


The Detective And The Moon

by Rheehemoth



Category: Death Note
Genre: Angst, Awkward Romance, Character Death, F/M, Fluff, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-04
Updated: 2016-03-27
Packaged: 2018-04-29 20:43:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 82,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5141858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rheehemoth/pseuds/Rheehemoth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When thirteen police officers are killed by a group called 'Aka Sora', and the Sora Ops team are being targeted, the world's number one detective, known as 'L' decides that he'll help out with the case. He finds Tsuki, one of the Sora Ops quite intriguing</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Aka Sora

**Chapter 1 – Aka Sora**

* * *

" _You have a job."_  the man on the phone spoke in an deep authoritative tone.

"..." the person said nothing in reply, and waited for the man to speak again.

" _I will be out the front in 5 minutes. Be ready._ " he said with finality that left no room for negotiation or questioning and hung up the phone before the person on the other end could speak.

Groaning lazily, the person got up out of bed and went over to their closest after switching on the light. They opened the double doors, that were painted a nice off-white, looked inside and lifted out the usual attire and put it on, making sure to use up every singe second of the five minutes they had until the man that was on the phone would be out the front of the small, 2 bedroom house.

Roughly four minutes later, there was the unmistakable sound of a car horn, beeping thrice before going silent again. Groaning again, the person now fully dressed except for the black, knee-high leather boots, walked out carrying them and opened the door to the shiny black car with the dark-tinted windows and got in the back passenger's side. The man who was on the phone only minutes ago spoke and told her what they had to do, while the person put their boots on.

"There is a man hiding in an empty home that has recently stolen over $50,000 from a large, and very important company as well as assaulted and nearly killed several of the staff. You are needed to bring him into custody. _"_

"That's what the local cops are for. Tell them to do their jobs." the person spoke for the first time, their voice low and cold with an irritated edge to it. Clearly, it was a woman, and she obviously wasn't happy about being disturbed.

"We cannot cause a large domestic disturbance since this information isn't supposed to be released to the media because of what company it is. So the local police has not, and will not been informed of the incident. We have been asked to do it because we don't have information leaks." the man replied, his dark brown eyes looking into the rear-view mirror every few moments to look at the woman in the back seat with her foot resting up against the front passenger seat, buckling up her footwear.

She rolled her icy blue eyes in reply and sat back in the black leather seat and watched the houses, trees and whatever else was out the window go by. He gave her the blueprints to the building, and she inspected them as each street light went past. All she really needed to know was where the attic and basement stairs were, and everything could be figured out when she got there, so she quickly checked them over, before being satisfied and putting the papers on the seat next to her.

It was about 5am, and the boss had most likely been up all night looking for this guy, but she didn't really care. It was annoying since the other three members of her team were either; not exactly suited for the field or already had a job to do. She asked about them anyway.

"So why can't one of the others do it? This is my sleeping day, you know that." she retorted sharply but tonelessly to the middle aged man sitting in the driver's seat.

"You are smart enough to know why. They're all busy." he replied just as sharply, telling her how it is with no hesitation.

The woman just rolled her eyes and glared at the back of his seat with emotionless eyes only being revealed. She had her first mask on, that was made from black material and covered her nose and mouth. Revealing her face was something she hated doing, even to the boss who already knew what she looked like underneath it.

A few minutes after waiting for a traffic light to change, so they could move, they arrived a few blocks away from their destination. Since she was supposed to approach the target without them knowing, as usual, she couldn't let the car get too close, so they wouldn't hear the car and go bolting off somewhere. She put on the painted black mask, with the small, white crescent moon symbol in between the eye holes.

"You know the drill. Get in, do the job and get out...before the guys who are picking him up get there." the man sitting in the front seat said with authority that the black-haired woman ignored. He gave her a brief description of the house as well, so she wouldn't break into the wrong one. It was in the middle of a new housing-estate so most of them were empty.

Getting out of the car, she looked around for any sign of people. There was no sign of any presences aside her and the car, so she started walking towards the area where the house was. It was two storeys high and it was most likely that the target was on the top floor or in the basement, and even if he wasn't, it was easier, and better to make your way down or up since the target wouldn't usually expect a sneak attack from above or below.

With a deep breath, she drew a kunai and held it in her mouth, ready for action and used her grapple to grasp onto the roof. The small woman climbed up swiftly and silently and moved over the roof and checked the several windows on the top floor for any signs of the target.

She noticed that there was a half-empty bottle of water with the lid off on the floor in one of the rooms on the top floor, and her eyes narrowed suspiciously, looking in the shadows for any person's presence. The closest window was unlocked, much to her luck – even though it would have been less than easy for her to break in – and she slid it open and clambered in without making a sound and held the kunai that was in her mouth in her right hand, ready for anything that might threaten her in any way.

Emotionless blue eyes scanned her surroundings getting used to the darkness, and her ears listened for any sound to give away the location of the target. She saw and heard nothing, not even the faint sound of a person breathing the air around them, so she looked to the staircase she could only just see in the dim light.

The woman jumped on the staircase rail, looking down for any sign of who she was looking for, and silently leapt down the stairs themselves when she couldn't find anything. Unfortunately for the target, the only other decent place to hide was the basement, so she walked to the door that she remembered as being the door to said room and opened it without any sound and stalked down the set of stairs, kunai still drawn, waiting for someone to leap out of the darkness.

There was still no sign of anyone and she growled in her mind in irritation and made her steps barely audible. Maybe that might lure out anyone hiding here. They were definitely here, she just had to find where in the house they were.

Just barely she heard the sound of a gun clicking a few metres away from her, and made her movement silent again as she moved out of the way as the target shot right where she was only moments ago. Bad move, because now she knew exactly where he was. As her eyes adjusted more to the darkness, she could see the faint outline of a person with their arm stretched out in front of them holding something, presumably the gun and threw the kunai in the direction of their left leg to incapacitate them momentarily so she could tie them up and leave them to whoever was taking care of them.

She heard him grunt in pain as the kunai made contact and rushed over to them as she drew her small plastic strip that would suffice as handcuffs. They were much stronger when done up, and even though they didn't require a key to break out of, they were much better to use for capturing the target than handcuffs. And they didn't jingle around and make noise while you were trying to sneak around somewhere. As she grabbed the short hair on their head, he tried to punch and grab at her, but she dodged or blocked it with ease with nothing more than battle experience.

With only one movement, she pinned him face down on the ground and put a knee into his spine to stop his moving. She grabbed his arms and put them across his back so his wrists were touching and twisted the plastic around the man's wrist and it locked into place as he struggled.

He continued to struggle, even as she checked the link to make sure it was fastened properly. When she'd finally had enough of it a minute later, she reached out and hit the back of his neck hard enough to knock him out. For the next ten minutes, she sat there, waiting as whoever was going to come pick the guy up came, and she scattered away as soon as she heard them approaching the front door of the house and kicking it down.

The woman use her grapple to cling onto the back window, and brought it back when she was close enough to the ground and bolted silently back to the black car that should still be waiting for her a few blocks away. A few minutes later, she opened the back door and climbed in, her mask still covering her entire face.

"I'm done. Let's go." she stated simply and the car took off, heading off in a direction she couldn't help but recognise. They were going to her office. "Why are we going this way?" she asked tonelessly even though she already knew why.

"Because if you don't fill out the report now, you'll have to do it later. You know that." the man in the front seat said with a scolding tone, even though he knew the woman wouldn't listen to him.

She only replied with a near silent groan that conveyed her slight irritation. She certainly didn't want to sign forms and complete paper work now, but it could be worse. They waited at the various traffic lights and finally got to their building about fifteen minutes later. The man turned left into the parking area which had the security check. They both pulled out their identification cards and put them into the slot and waited until they were both cleared before continuing into the underground car parking area and they pulled up just near the elevator.

They both got out of the shiny black car, walked over to the elevator and pressed the 'Up' button so they could go to their floor. It lit up after a moment and the metal doors opened up for both of them. An almost silent sigh escaped her as she stepped inside with the older man and waited as the machine took them up to the fourth and top floor and the doors opened to reveal their floor.

The woman ran a long-fingered, pale hand through her black hair that was pulled back into a long plait that reached the middle of her back and looked out the window mechanically as walls and doors to offices past as they walked out into their main room. People were walking around and most of them nodded respectfully towards her and the boss and she paid no attention to them in return, keeping her eyes cold and unrevealing as always.

Most of them were probably still here from working on finding the guy that she captured earlier, and it wasn't uncommon for there to be more people here in the early hours of the morning that in the middle of the day. The boss pulled out his clearance card and swiped it through the machine, and the doors opened for him. The woman just slid in behind him instead of waiting for it to shut and use her card like they were supposed to. He fixed her with a glare which she ignored and they continued to walk.

Both of them walked into their large office, and one of the other guys on her team popped his reddy-brown haired head over the top of the computer monitor and smiled at her in greeting. She nodded silently in reply and continued following the boss through to his office where her paper work. When they got there, he looked around on his desk for the right pile before raising his head and fixing his amber-brown eyes on her cold-blue ones through her mask.

"Can you take off the damn mask already? You know that you don't have to wear it in our office." he said as she took the papers from his outstretched hand and lifted her other hand up and removed the black mask from her face. Only to reveal the other one underneath. The man rolled his eyes and sat down at his desk as she walked out of his office and sat down at her own desk that was at the back of the room in the corner.

She lifted her head up when she felt the gaze of the hazel-eyed man sitting a few metres away from her, doing his usual technical computer stuff. The tall, thin man smiled at her, even though he knew she would never smile back, let alone even change her expression much, since she did get disturbed on the day that she slept. He could see that she looked a little irritated even though no one else would have been able to pick up on it.

It was just a side-effect from working with her for so long. She was the most composed person he had ever seen, and it wasn't just because he couldn't see two thirds of her face aside from the shadows that moved across the material when she did actually change her expression minutely. He noticed that she was doing paper work. Probably from whatever she got called up to do this morning.

"Hey, Tsuki. Did you capture the guy who stole the 50 G's and was hiding out at that house?" he asked conversationally with his American accent showing through a little and using her 'name'.

"Yes I did." she replied simply after looking back down at the papers on her desk.

Clearly she wasn't in the mood. Normally she didn't mind talking to him, since they clicked quite well, but it seems that she was more annoyed than he realised. She relaxed a bit and looked over to him. She should at least be a bit nicer to him. He was the only other person who had been here as long as she had and was the only one as smart as her. Knowing him, he was probably here since 6am yesterday looking for the guy since he looked like he was about to pass out and start drooling on the keyboard which would be his makeshift pillow.

"You could have probably handled such a simple job, Kumo." she said with a teasing hint to her tone, finally bothering to return the favour of addressing him by his 'name'.

"Hah, I probably could have. But I'm actually investigating something at the moment. We might end up assisting in the case as well." he replied, sounding like he really wasn't that interested. She fractionally raised an eyebrow in question. "There's just been a series of murders with the same M.O. I just have to find out if there is any connection."

She nodded, and signed the last thing on her sheets of paper. There was no point in her going back home since she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, and if they were probably going to end up on the case, she may as well give him a hand.

The petite but toned woman got up and straightened the small stack of paper on her desk, put a paper-clip on them, and walked over to her boss' office, and opened the door unannounced and flung the paper onto his desk. She shut the door behind her, still without saying a word, and grabbed the closest chair to Kumo's desk and pulled it up next to his.

"So, what have we got so far?" she asked and inspected the information on some of the victims that was currently on the screen. They looked familiar...

"Basically they're all cops. Most of them are pretty high ranking too. At first I was thinking that it was just someone with a grudge, but apparently the time of death was roughly the same. And it was organised too." he answered and gave her a few sheets that had all the victims and their information.

She perused through the list for about ten minutes, still thinking that they looked familiar, but there was one face that stuck out. He was a Senior Superintendent up north and they had worked with him on catching a serial rapist about a year ago. That case had lasted about 2 months, and it had taken them over half of that time before they bothered to call them in. It was a bitch to catch the guy, but in the end Kumo had come through for them and allowed Tsuki to make a plan which trapped him.

As she continued to look, she began recognising the other faces more and more. They had worked with all of these people before!

"Kumo." she said with slight urgency, hoping that she didn't just find the connection between the murders. "I've got something. We've worked with all these people before. Do you remember when we worked with the Senior Superintendent on that serial rapist case? And when we had to find the guy that had killed a politician? This was the leading officer on the case..." she pointed to each victim as she spoke of them, and huffed in realisation.

"You're onto something here. But take a look at this. I just received these. There was reports from the lab that there were red symbols painted onto the victim's bodies." he spoke as he typed swiftly and opened up various files with data on the murders. He opened up a file which had several pictures on them and selected the first one.

There was a picture of one of the bodies, and he scrolled through the find the one that had the close up of the symbol. He found the right one and they both looked at the picture and tilted their heads to the side simultaneously to read "A.S" painted on the victim's chest.

Suddenly the sound of the beep that let them know someone was at the door went off. Tsuki got up, grabbed her mask and put it on before walking down the hall and opened the large metal door to reveal a pretty blonde female with glasses and a tall, dark-skinned man dressed in police uniform. They announced themselves as Superintendent Kotone Fuyuko and Chief Superintendent Hiroshi Ataru.

She heard the sound of her boss' voice resonate down the hallway and they both greeted him and walked in when Tsuki moved for them. It was rare that anyone was actually allowed in their main office but she kept quiet as they all walked back down the hall. When they got back, Kumo had his mask on as well, which was exactly the same as her own except for the symbol of a cloud instead of a crescent moon. He was eyeing off the bag that the Chief was holding and glanced at her quickly to let her know that it had some significance.

"I assume that is the evidence you have for us?" the boss asked the man who was a little taller than himself.

"Yes, it is Taiyou. I'd like one of your agents to look at it." Hiroshi replied and looked in Tsuki's direction, and watched her as she went and sat back down next to Kumo.

"Tsuki. Would you and Kumo both take a look at this?" the man known as Taiyou asked his two agents who both briefly glanced over at the evidence bag containing what looked like a letter and at the other sheets of paper the Chief Superintendent was holding in his other hand.

She looked away, uninterested at the evidence. The most important thing right now would be to figure out what was going on with the murders of these police officers that had worked with the Sora Ops previously. Taiyou noticed this, and resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the girls impudence. Obviously she had already discovered the case, and was probably not going to pay attention to anything unrelated to it.

"It is evidence in the case that you and Kumo are currently investigating." he pressed her and she looked back over at him, then at the bag again. "It's a letter that was left at the last victim's side. And here are the lab results."

Tsuki got up, took both items and sat back down and started going over the lab information. There were no fingerprints, strands of hair, or any fibres from clothing or other materials found on the paper. Clearly they were professionals. Also, the lab had analysed any chemical residue left on the paper, but unfortunately hadn't found anything abnormal. She handed the paper to Kumo, who had gotten out surgical gloves for them to use when they got the letter out.

Pulling a pair on, she gently took the letter out and began to read it.

_We're coming after you and everyone involved with you._

Seems that she was right. If they were targeting them, then no wonder Taiyou had acted so quickly. Knowing him, he had already noticed the link between the victims and had notified the police that they would be joining the investigation.

A small red kanji written on the bottom right hand corner of the letter grabbed her attention. It was 'Sora'. Sora Ops was the name of their organisation and it would explain and further back up her theory of the victims being connected to them. She handed the letter to Kumo.

"Look at the red kanji in the corner. It's 'Sora'. Seems like I was right about them being involved with us." she stated simply as they both continued to carefully inspect the letter.

"Well done. If I had as much face-to-face time with the people we work with as you do, then I probably could've figured out that we've worked with them as well. I can't help but think there is more to it though." he replied thoughtfully and looked down as he contemplated the relevance of the symbol.

Tsuki looked back towards the computer screen, where the photo of the victims body with the letters "A.S" written on them in red was. Both that and the kanji were written in red. She got an idea, although it sounded a little silly, but it would make sense.

"Taiyou. I've got an idea about the relevance of the red kanji and the 'A.S' written on the victims bodies. Aka Sora." she said simply, stood up, turned the computer screen around to face the boss and the two police officers and grabbed the letter from the desk to show them.

"It would explain why the letters and kanji are written in red, since it seems that they've done it on purpose. And A.S could stand for Aka Sora. As well as it being even more related to us. Nicely done. That was the only thing I couldn't figure out." Taiyou said with a hand on his chin in thought. Tsuki's theory made sense.

"Well, for the moment we will call the people who did this 'Aka Sora'. Should we release this to the press?" the Chief Superintendent asked, feeling a little left out.

Taiyou was about to answer, but Tsuki got in before him.

"Yes. But we'll have go about it carefully. The general public cannot know about the Sora Ops' existence." she answered professionally, briefly glancing at Taiyou to stop him from talking.

"I don't think we should release anything until we get more evidence." he reasoned with his second-in-command. She could be so stubborn sometimes.

"What else would we need? We have thirteen bodies and a letter saying that they are coming for us. If we release the information now, there's a good chance that they'll be taken off guard by it and they might re-think their next move more carefully. Telling them that we know about them may decrease the total body count in the long run." she retorted confidently.

The brown-eyed man sighed a little. He hated when she was right. And her move was risky, but logical and he hoped that this would decrease the body count. The two police officers both looked a little shocked, but also very impressed. The Sora Ops were clearly as good as they thought.

"Alright, fine. But as Tsuki said, we can't say too much. Only mention that an organisation called Aka Sora has killed thirteen people. We can't tell the public that they were police officers either." he said and watched as the blonde woman who hadn't said a word scribbled down the vague gist of what he said on a small notepad that came out of nowhere.

"Okay. Please keep us updated on anything you have and we'll notify you as soon as we find something new." the blond woman finally spoke up and adjusted her glasses which reflected the light as she pushed them up.

Taiyou nodded, and walked them out of their office. Tsuki turned to Kumo, who had taken off his mask and took a deep breath.

"Let's get to work."

* * *

Another hotel, another day of looking for any new cases that he could work on. He had the TV on with a news channel going and he was on the computer as well. Something caught his attention on the TV, and he turned towards the screen and turned up the volume with the remote.

"... _thirteen bodies were found and believed to have been murdered by the secretive organisation called Aka Sora._ " the news woman said with a slightly grim expression, clearly not wanting to be the bearer of such terrible news.

His eyes narrowed at the TV when the person called 'Chief Superintendent Hiroshi Ataru' came on the screen and started talking about the case.

" _We found the bodies one by one in the early hours of the morning and have already started to take action into finding this 'Aka Sora' and anyone involved with them. The police also ask any citizens who may have information to inform us immediately as it could help us bring justice on those that murdered thirteen innocent people._ " the man said and it cut back to the news woman who started reading about something else.

The black-haired man mused for a moment. This kind of case could turn out to be extremely difficult to solve for the police on their own or it might all be overdone and be nothing more than a simple case that just took a while for the suspects to be tracked down.

He heard someone walk in the room and shut the door behind them. The old man who had just entered took of his hat and his large coat and hung them on the hooks just inside the doorway.

"Ryuzaki. I assume you saw the news." he said in his kind voice, referring to what he had seen on the large TV in the hotel lobby a few minutes ago. It had actually made him stop and watch.

"Yes, I did." the young man named Ryuzaki answered and turned to his computer, presumably to look up more information on the murders.

"Will you help?" he asked as he walked over to the seat that Ryuzaki was sitting on, with his knees bent and pulled up against his chest and his long arms reaching around to type on the keyboard.

"I'm not sure yet..." he replied, but trailed off when he clicked on a certain site and read the words that would change his mind.

" _We ask that all police officers keep on the lookout and that civilians please notify the authorities if they have any information about the Aka Sora._

_Also, we would like to ask for the assistance of L, so that this case may be solved as quickly as possible and that innocent lives may be kept._ "

He contemplated why they would ask for his help so soon. Usually the police forces were too proud to come right out and ask like that, so that would mean that there was more to this case that had been announced. It was very likely that the people killed were rather important as well since no names or any information about the victims had been released.

It was likely that they had no leads and no information to go off, and if they had decided to release the event to the press so quickly if the bodies were only found that morning, then it was even more likely that they were already getting desperate. And there was a good chance that they had only mentioned this on the internet so less people would know.

"Watari." he spoke to the other man and turned to look up at him. "It seems that I will help out with this case after all." he said, and looked back towards his computer and immediately started putting every bit of information he had into a new file.

The older man smiled, glad to know that L had decided to help out to try and prevent anyone else getting killed. Thirteen people was already a lot and he was saddened to think of the friends and families that had lost a father, mother, uncle, aunt, daughter, son, cousin or grandparent or partner.

Hopefully, what the site said would come true. That with L's assistance, the case would be solved quickly and no one else would be hurt or killed. He walked away from the seat and got out a brief case that contained a lap top, web cam and microphone from one of the hotel rooms cupboards, and also got out a large, full length leather jacket and his hat, that would hide him completely when he went to meet with the police and act as L's link to them...


	2. The Address

**  
** **Chapter 2 – An Address**

 

* * *

Watari walked in the hotel room with a small trolley, that had three shelves with plate after plate after plate of different cakes and various other sweets. Ryuzaki noticed his presence but kept typing on his computer until the man was standing right next to him. He turned to inspect the selection and lifted off a plate with a piece of cake that had strawberries on top. He quite liked strawberries.

"It is time for me to go Ryuzaki. I will have everything set up in forty five minutes and I will contact you then." the older man said, looking down at the man who looked more like a child whilst eating the cake.

He nodded once and Watari walked to the closest where he had everything set up, and took it all out, putting the hat on his head, the full-length leather coat over his arm and holding the briefcase in his hand. He walked to the door and opened it, before giving Ryuzaki a small bow of goodbye and shut the door behind him.

The elevator was only over the other side of the hall and he pressed the button with the arrow pointing down and waited for the doors to open. He went to the level for the underground parking lot, and the elevator stopped a few times to let people on and off. He got in his car, started it up and was off.

It took him all of a little less than half an hour to drive to the appropriate building and went through the security check and the shocked security guard waved him through before he parked in yet another underground lot and made sure his face was completely covered before getting out and putting on the large leather coat and grabbing the briefcase before shutting the door and locking the black car and walked towards the elevator.

He was going to go to the first floor for the time being, so he pressed the appropriate button and waited a moment until the doors opened and a few heads turned to see who it was. Simultaneously, eyes widened and the place went quiet for a few whispers as more people turned to look at the man only known as 'Watari', the only person who could get in contact with the world's number one detective, L.

Most of the people were all dressed up in their police officer garb, and some were dressed in normal civilian clothing. A pretty blonde woman walked up to him, adjusted her glasses and the light reflected off them before she smiled happily at him.

"Right this way." she said and began to walk towards the back of the building.

She knocked on the door which had 'Chief Superintendent' written on it, and waited for the person inside to grant them entry before opening the door, and moving out of the way for him to step through first. The dark-skinned man sitting at the desk stood up in shock, and walked over to him.

"Thank you very much for coming. I didn't even expect a response this soon." he said as he bowed to the man. "I'm Chief Superintendent Hiroshi Ataru, and this is my Superintendent Kotone Fuyuko. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Watari smiled even though the man wouldn't be able to see it. "You may call me Watari. Where should I set up?" he asked simply and lifted the briefcase up to hold his other hand underneath it.

"Well, actually I'd recommend that you should go to the Sora Ops office. That is where the main investigation is running." the Chief said and scratched the back of his head, feeling a little awkward and nervous.

"Ah, I see." he replied while contemplating why the name 'Sora Ops' sounded so familiar.

"I'm going over there now, if you'd like to follow behind me." Hiroshi offered, since he knew that maybe not even Watari would know where it is right now.

"That would be fine." Watari answered kindly. He would have to ring Ryuzaki on the way and let him know.

As he was walking back to the car, which conveniently was parked only three spaces away from the Chief's, he tried to recall where he had heard the name 'Sora Ops' from. They sounded like some sort of specialised and secretive unit, of course, he couldn't help but think that maybe L had worked with them before.

Hiroshi started his car and Watari did the same, and they pulled out and drove for at least ten minutes before they stopped at a red light, and he took that chance to contact Ryuzaki. It only took a minute for the young man to answer, since he recognised the number, and Watari informed him of the situation quickly before the light went green. He hung up and waited a few more moments before the traffic light changed and continued to follow behind the Chief's car for another twenty minutes.

When they stopped out the front of what looked like an apartment, he was a little confused, but followed the other man to the front door and waited as he pressed the intercom button. The door unlocked and they opened it and walked in.

Everyone here reacted exactly the same as the people at the police station, with wide eyes and the occasional dropped jaw. It was pretty normal, so it didn't bother him much any more and it continued as they went to elevator and went up to the fourth floor. They both strolled up to two huge doors and pressed another buzzer button and the door opened a moment later to reveal a small woman with black clothes and a black mask with a white crescent moon painted on it.

She stepped aside, and eyed Watari carefully. She'd expected L's lackey to show up soon enough since she saw the internet page that had the plea for L's help on there. And she wasn't happy about it either. The Sora Ops should deal with this themselves since they were being targeted. Taiyou came out from his office and greeted the Chief Superintendent before greeting Watari.

Taiyou showed him to a spare desk and he connected through to L, and the black letter came up on the screen when the connection had worked. Tsuki was facing away from the computer, talking something over with Ame who noticed that Watari had finished. All of them began to hear the voice of 'L'. Clearly it was edited so their real voice couldn't be distinguished, but their voice nonetheless.

"...I am L..." the voice said simply, getting straight to the point. Ame went to speak, but Tsuki glared at him to tell him to shut his trap. The intimidating woman turned around and leant up against the desk Ame was sitting at.

"I am Taiyou. This is Tsuki, Ame, Kumo and Hoshi. They make up the Sora Ops team. The other man is Chief Superintendent Hiroshi Ataru." Taiyou introduced them and pointed to each person, with symbols for a crescent moon, rain, a cloud and a star on their masks. He bowed respectfully and took his leave, saying that he would return later.

"Please tell me everything you have so far." L requested, wanting to get started right away.

"I kind of figured that this would happen, so I prepared a flash drive with all our information on it." she continued, looking straight into the web cam and Ame took that as his queue to grab the flash drive off her desk and hand it to Watari, all the while Tsuki continued staring straight at the camera as if she was trying to stare down L.

"The thirteen people killed yesterday were all high-ranking police officers that had worked with the Sora Ops before. All of the bodies had the letters 'A.S' painted on them. The last victim also had a letter at his side." she informed and held up the evidence bag holding said letter that was conveniently on Ame's desk.

"It says 'We're coming after you and everyone involved with you'. Also, there is small red kanji for 'Sora' on the bottom right hand corner. I deduced that we could assume that this group goes by the name 'Aka Sora' which would further prove their involvement with us. And so far, that is all the most significant information we have." she finished and moved back over to her desk without a word or glance in anyone else's direction.

She sat in her chair and resisted the urge to groan loudly. She wasn't happy about L being here. As a person who hadn't trusted anyone in her life, suddenly being asked to put faith in someone who spoke through a fucking computer. Unless she could at least see someone's eyes, she could never trust them. It may have just been her paranoid nature speaking, but she just couldn't fathom how Taiyou could allow L into their investigation.

They had Kumo, a technology and gadget specialist who could hack into basically anything. Hoshi, who was a real hands-on type and could probably break into a casino's vault within five minutes. Ame, who was great at espionage, reconnaissance, and setting up Kumo's devices anywhere necessary. And Tsuki herself, who was their all-round agent and the second-in-charge. She was able to get in, do her job and get out completely undetected, not to mention her being incredibly intelligent, analytical as well as being a human lie detector.

All of them were trained to be almost like ninja, barely using guns unless necessary because they were so loud, instead using kunai, daggers and hand-to-hand combat to take down and capture their enemies. Were they not enough to solve this case? Doing this kind of thing was their speciality. Why did they need the help of a person who 'supposedly' existed and only communicated through a microphone?!

Hoshi and Ame seemed to be quite happy to work with him, and Kumo would love all the access that L would be able to give him to lots of files and databases that he would usually have to spend an hour or more hacking into. The Chief Superintendent was still in shock about it, and Taiyou was so damn perceptive that he probably knew that L would get involved as soon as the press released it.

Tsuki was snapped out of her thoughts by Kumo's voice calling her over to him. She got up and walked over, leaning on his chair and looking at the screen.

"We just got a tip in from someone saying they saw the kanji for 'Sora' written on a huge warehouse in the industrial area about half an hour from here." he said, finally glad to have gotten some new information. Since Taiyou wasn't there, it was up to Tsuki to decide what to do. Everyone looked at her silently, waiting for her decision.

"I would recommend checking out the warehouse." L's voice spoke suddenly through the computer.

"Why? What if it's a trap, or just some punks playing a prank?" Tsuki questioned, even though she was pretty sure that L would have a good reason for suggesting that. She had already decided to go and check it out anyway, but she couldn't deny that no one would question her reasoning if she had L agreeing with her.

"We haven't heard from the group at all since the murders yesterday. I would think that they are either trying to antagonise us by letting us know they are still around, or they might have put something in the warehouse that they want us to see." L replied, even though they could tell by Tsuki's tone that she had already made up her mind and that she probably wanted to know why he thought they should go.

"That's what I was thinking...Ame, we're going." she said and walked over to a large metal cupboard that was in the corner of the room, just behind Ame's desk. He had already opened it to reveal a storage space for weapons.

"Kumo, get a few of those small cameras and motion sensors for us to set up inside and around the warehouse in case they decide to use it again." she said while her and Ame took weapon after weapon from the cupboard and concealed them in belts, pockets, and holsters.

Tsuki grabbed her leg holsters and a few kunai and put her booted foot up on Ame's desk and put the first one on and repeated it with the other leg. She placed each kunai in the part provided and turned back around to grab her wakizashi and strap it to her back so that the handle could be concealed by a jacket and put her gun on her belt.

She quickly went and grabbed her full-length cloak from the back of her chair and put it on as Ame did the same. Kumo was waiting to give them their headsets - which they used to keep in contact with – and they both put them on and tested them quickly before he gave them a small box containing the cameras and motion sensors.

"Let's go." Tsuki said and they both walked out the large doors down the hall and down to the parking lot.

Ame insisted on driving, much to Kumo's amusement and Tsuki's annoyance, and they started off in the direction of the industrial estate with Kumo directing them. Half an hour later, they arrived making sure to pull up a few hundred metres away from the place. Since it was day time they had to be extra careful in approaching the place and they looked around for any signs of anyone being around as they stalked closer to the warehouse.

When they got close enough, they could see the large red symbol on one of the walls. Ame got out a digital camera, and he started taking photos when they got closer. After he was satisfied, he put the camera away somewhere and they tried to look for the best entry into the warehouse.

The back window had been smashed and the green-eyed man told Tsuki to stop moving which she had hoped for him to do. This place was perfect for a trap and they had to check it out completely before even thinking about going inside. There were a few boxes spread here and there around the place, and Tsuki told Ame to step back so she could look inside. Luckily, there was nothing inside any of them and she cautiously kicked them inside to look underneath them.

Again, there was nothing to worry about so they both continued inspecting the place with a fine toothed comb while telling Kumo and everyone else back at headquarters what was happening. After another few minutes of checking everything out, they deemed it safe enough to go inside.

There was a padlock on the door, but it wasn't actually clicked into place properly and Ame thought that it might be a good idea to try and throw kunai at it to knock it off the door, in case that moving it triggered a trap of some sort. Tsuki agreed and allowed Ame the honours. She thought that this was a perfect chance for him to take the lead and get more experience which was why she brought him along, so she had been subtly allowing him to make most of the decisions and she was impressed so far.

His instinct was developed very well for someone who had only joined the Sora Ops 8 months ago. She watched him while he figured out what angle to use to push the padlock off the door and decided on one a moment later and threw the kunai. It hit the padlock on the right spot and it was pushed off the door by the kinetic energy and both Ame and Tsuki instinctively took a defensive stance, waiting for something to happen.

Ame moved back to stand next to Tsuki and she nodded once at him to let him know he made a good decision and he smirked under his mask. She brought up the possibility that whatever trap that may be set up might be on a time delay to make you drop your guard after nothing happens when the padlock is removed, so they should quickly check for any signs of thin wires being attached to the padlock and the door itself to make sure that there wasn't any chance of a trap being set.

They both checked out everything they could before being satisfied and Tsuki deemed it safe enough to try opening the door, but doing it from a distance with a string attached to the door. Ame kept watch out for anyone while the black-haired woman tied a long piece of string that she had in a pocket of her pants to the door where the padlock was sitting only minutes ago.

Both of them moved back a few mores metres so they were roughly 15 metres away and Tsuki's string was completely run out. With a deep breath from both of them, she pulled on the string and opened up the door, again taking a defensive stance unconsciously.

"I think it's alright. We should be able to enter now, but be very careful." Tsuki said quietly with her eyes narrowed at the warehouse.

Ame nodded in response and they both drew a kunai each in preparation that there was people waiting for them inside. They silently stalked up to the building, making sure to take a quick glance around to see if anyone was around, and Tsuki offered to go in first when they were a few steps away from the door.

With another deep breath, she took a running start and literally back-flipped until she was in the very middle of the warehouse. She looked around for signs of people and when she couldn't see anyone, she gestured for Ame to come in as well. He crept inside and looked around as well, and then they both immediately started browsing the place for any clue of why they were led here.

The green-eyed man took one side and Tsuki took the other and they gazed around for anything that might help them get a lead in the case. After a few minutes, they met back in the middle and discussed their options with Kumo, Hoshi and surprisingly, L, who had a few inputs even though they kept speaking to a minimum. Tsuki resisted the urge to sigh or groan loudly and tilted her head back to look at the ceiling, and saw a small white piece of paper hanging only a metre above their heads.

She inwardly groaned at her stupidity and pulled on a pair of surgical gloves while Ame stared at her, wondering what the hell she was doing, and she jumped up to grab the string that the letter was hanging from, and allow her body weight falling back to the ground to snap the string where it was tied. It seemed like somebody tied it to something and threw it over the metal frame on the roof and tied both ends of the string to where it was attached on the letter. Smart idea, and it did take them a while to find it as well.

Ame's eyes widened at the sight of the letter, and Kumo wondered what was going on since both of them had stopped talking.

"Tsuki just found a letter. It was hanging down from the roof." Ame said with a slightly awed tone. That was why she was second in command.  _Nothing_ went overlooked.

"What does it say?" Kumo asked with his hollow and tinny sounding voice coming through the speaker on their headsets.

"I'm not going to open it here. We'll bring it back to headquarters and then open it there." Tsuki said and brought out a zip-lock bag from another pocket for evidence usage. She gently placed the letter in there and closed it up and put it in a larger inner pocket of her cloak.

They looked around for another few minutes before setting up the small cameras and motion sensors in various places, which took roughly half an hour before they were ready to go.

Both of them walked back to the car, still keeping a close eye out for any people around and made the thirty minute long drive back to headquarters while they discussed several things about the case, and about them picking up lunch, which was Hoshi's suggestion. Therefore the thirty minute long drive became forty-five to fifty minutes as they stopped off to go through the drive through of a fast-food restaurant, much to Tsuki's chagrin.

She ordered the healthiest looking thing off the menu, even though she didn't really want to eat from a fast-food restaurant when they had a moderately stocked kitchen back at the office for when they were there for more than eight hours at a time and were too busy to go out and get food (even though none of them had any problem sending out some of the grunts to buy food for them).

When they finally got back to headquarters, they got the usual curious look from everyone as they walked past, since everyone knew that they had just been on some sort of mission. They continued up to the fourth floor to find that Taiyou had returned and the Chief Superintendent was gone and Kumo and Hoshi were informing Taiyou of what happened while he was gone.

Tsuki hated it when he was around. Not because she was in charge when he wasn't, but because he wasn't about to put himself in her shoes and make decisions that would allow her to do everything she felt necessary to get a job done properly. She hated feeling restricted, but normally she just did whatever she wanted anyway. They had a lot of respect for one another and their abilities, but their ideas and strategies clashed.

When she shut the door behind her, Taiyou turned to her with anger written on his face. She felt like rolling her eyes and sticking her tongue at him like a child, but suppressed the urge.

"Tsuki, why did you make the reckless decision to go and check out the warehouse? It would have perfect for a trap, and you took another agent with you!" he scolded and gritted his teeth when her usually blank expression changed into boredom.

"Because otherwise we wouldn't have found this." she replied simply with a bored tone, just to piss him off a little more and pulled out the letter from her cloak pocket.

Without stopping she walked over to the large cupboard that held their weapons and got out face masks that they used on the field when the risk of gas was there. She threw one to everyone in the room as they all got up and walked over to the middle table just in front of the desk that Watari was still sitting at, and put them on. Taiyou glared at her, but kept quiet since he had a feeling this would be a big lead.

She put on a new pair of gloves and gently lifted the letter out from the bag and grabbed a kunai from her leg holster to open it with. One quick movement later, the kunai went back into her leg holster and she pulled out the letter inside the envelope very carefully, hoping that there wasn't anthrax or some other similar thing inside.

No powder came out, and she silently let out the breath she had been holding, and so did everyone else, but much louder. L stayed silent as she worked. She turned back the folded parts of the paper and read out what it said.

"It's an address." Taiyou put in, completely forgotten any earlier anger with Tsuki. This really was a big lead.

"Well, Taiyou. What should we do?" the blue-eyed woman said a little sharply, trying to piss him off again. He was the only person that she antagonised like this, and he knew it.

"I don't think we have a choice but to check it out. But we'll wait for the cover of night since it's a residential area." he replied knowing that Tsuki was just trying to push his buttons. "For the moment, Kumo, find out who the house belongs to, and get every single speck of information on them that you can." the man continued and Kumo nodded once in reply, eyes serious with determination for finally getting something to go off.

"It is time for me to go." Watari said out of the blue, drawing all attention to him as he shut the briefcase. "I will return when you are starting the operation tonight." he got up and walked towards the door before Taiyou stopped him.

"I was getting you a clearance card for those doors when I was out. The operation will begin at 10:30pm tonight." the boss informed him and gave Watari a single nod. "Let's get started everyone."

Tsuki groaned and glowered in her mind and gently massaged her left shoulder absent mindedly.

It was going to be a long night...

* * *

When Watari arrived back at the hotel, Ryuzaki was still sitting at his computer and he probably hadn't moved all day. It was a good thing that he was so determined to catch these 'Aka Sora' guys, but he had sacrificed a normal sleep schedule, as well as normal food to be the world's number one detective.

But he was still  _so_  proud.

"Good evening Ryuzaki." the older man said as he took off his jacket and hat and hung them up.

"Good evening Watari...I am quite intrigued as to what we will find tonight. I am hoping that it is something we can use." the young man said and took a sip of his sugar, with a side of coffee.

"As do I. But I guess we will have to wait and find out." replied Watari and he walked over to stand next to Ryuzaki's chair.

The black-haired man seemed a little different than usual at the moment, not that he wasn't already quite different, so to speak. He was sitting how he usually does, with his knees bent and pulled up to his chest and his long-fingered, pale-skinned hands resting on top, and his bare feet fiddling around. But there was a unusual expression on his face. He looked a little...pensive, almost.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked, worried about the man who was like a son to him.

"Not exactly...I just find Tsuki rather...interesting. She seems to be more of a mystery than the others. I am not able to access their proper personnel files for the Sora Ops just yet, but I did look up their police files and there is almost nothing on there." Ryuzaki replied, and started to bite his thumb with just enough force to give him a little pain and his other hand went to his computer and pulled up Tsuki's personnel file.

Watari did not reply, instead just looked at the near blank file that was on the screen. There was a name, birth-date and an address there, but it was more than likely that it was all fake. There was absolutely nothing else written there aside from the date that she entered the police force, although that was quite likely to be fake as well.

There was also a photo of a woman who resembled her, but her eyes were not a piercing, icy blue instead being a deep brown and so was her hair that sat just around her shoulders, and her skin was nowhere near as pale. And her expression was not blank, and emotionless as Tsuki's was.

Of course they would have to put some sort of photo on there, but he couldn't help but wonder whether it was actually Tsuki, just with contacts or a wig since her hair was much longer than the photo. Or maybe that it was how she really looked. It would be impossible to tell unless he saw her in person, and he had a feeling that the way this case was going, he might have to resort to that since she seemed very distrustful of him and because more people might have already been killed.

He would have to wait and see what they found at the address that was written on the letter they found in the warehouse...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter glossary -  
> 1\. Ame - Rain  
> 2\. Hoshi - Star


	3. The Operation

**Chapter 3 – The Operation**

* * *

It was 10pm when Watari returned that night. Everyone had all spent most of the afternoon/evening/night getting prepared for the operation. Kumo had been looking up home owners and everything he possibly could on the house, but it was brand new and hadn't been owned yet so they ended up coming up with nothing. Failure was not an acceptable outcome for the mission, and they had to get something out of it.

Hoshi, Ame and Tsuki were all going, and they were nearly ready. Kumo had already set up their headsets, and they were armed and ready to go. Now they had half an hour to mentally prepare themselves, and for them to go through the plan a few times over, and also to inform L of the plan. L seemed to approve and soon enough 10:30pm came around.

Ame drove again, and they reached the area around forty five minutes later. They quickly went over the plan again, and looked over the blueprints the Kumo had hacked into and gotten for them. They checked their weapons, whilst doing so and making sure that Kumo couldn't see anyone on the satellite images he had also hacked into.

There was no one around, so off they went being almost invisible under the cover of darkness. It was a simple task for them to get in position and wait for Tsuki's command. When she cleared them to go, Ame moved first. He was the best at climbing because of his smaller than average sized body – for a male – and his lack of body fat. As per the plan, he went up on the roof of the building and unlocked one of the top windows for him and Tsuki to go through.

He achieved the tasked easily and he went in as Tsuki made her way up the building. The woman signalled for Hoshi to go, who was going in through the back door and had been picking the lock while Ame was getting up the building and going through the window. When he had succeeded, he swung the door open and stepped inside silently scoping the room for any sign of an ambush.

Both Tsuki and Ame were doing the same upstairs and as planned, Ame was to check the attic and Tsuki was going to check the second level. All of them had kunai drawn, and two blue sets and one green set of eyes were scanning the darkness for people, and they were all listening for even the slightest sound.

Almost in unison, they all got out their small flash lights and turned them on and instantly could see that there was no one in the house. Hoshi and Tsuki checked rooms while Ame looked around for any kind of clue in the attic and when he didn't find anything more than dust up there, he came down to meet up with Tsuki and Hoshi on the first floor.

This house didn't have a basement, but it did have a room under the stairs that Hoshi hadn't checked yet because Tsuki and Ame came down earlier than he expected. It was their last hope. She tilted her head to gesture for Ame to open the door, and with his kunai in one hand and flash light in the other, he opened it and all their eyes widened. Red paint was all over the walls on the inside and there was words written.

_It seems you have found the clue in the warehouse, but where will this one lead?_

There was another letter hanging from the ceiling. Hoshi put a pair of gloves were put on, and he took the letter off the string and put it in an evidence bag, sealed in shut and gently placed it in his inside pocket of his cloak, just like Tsuki had earlier that day. Ame got out the digital camera for the second time that day and took photos of each wall thoroughly.

Hoshi also noticed a key on the floor in the small room that was located directly underneath the letter which he picked up and put in a separate evidence bag. When they were satisfied, they began taking a quick look around again, just to see if there was anything else. Tsuki stayed on the first floor, whilst Ame and Hoshi went upstairs.

Suddenly, Kumo began telling them that there was someone coming towards the house and they all turned their flash lights off and hid in the darkest spots of whatever room they were in. Hoshi and Ame kept a look out from their higher vantage point and stayed upstairs just in the rare case that something happened to Tsuki so they would be there as back-up. They waited until the back door swung open and Tsuki felt the cold draft come through to where she was standing, in perfect view of the person walking inside.

Kumo was silent, and so were Hoshi and Ame and they were all simultaneously holding their breath in waiting for something to happen. Tsuki waited until the person had noticed that the door wasn't locked and took up a defensive stance and started looking around. Slowly, she began to stalk closer to the person, keeping herself flush up against the wall.

A car drove past in the street, and it's headlights made small sections of light appear in the room and Tsuki had to silently drop to the floor to avoid them shining on her. The person, who was now revealed as a young male with short, dark brown hair – thanks to the car headlights – walked further inside, his footsteps barely audible. When he was right in front of Tsuki, she crept over behind him and swiftly swung her flattened hand out and whacked the back of his neck to knock him out.

Hoshi and Ame heard the thud from their position at the top of the stairs and heard the man hit the floor. They came downstairs when Tsuki told them it was okay, and Kumo confirmed that he only saw only the one person coming towards the house. They both turned on their flash lights and walked over to Tsuki who was holding hers in her mouth and doing up the plasti-cuffs around the man's wrists.

Ame took of to get the car, since none of them would want to carry the guy all the way to it and he pulled up out the front a moment later. He gave them the all clear since he couldn't see anyone around, or peeking through windows and Hoshi came out first with the guy over his shoulder. Tsuki opened the door for him, and they put him in the boot of the car.

Usually they would have brought one of their cars that had the cage in the boot that normal police cars had, but they hadn't exactly expected for them to be capturing anyone. It shouldn't have been that easy. But even if this guy wasn't involved, they would find out..

They drove back to headquarters and luckily enough, the guy stayed out cold the whole time. He was put in one of their interrogation rooms, which wasn't used too often, and stayed there, still unconscious while Hoshi, Ame and Tsuki went upstairs to show Kumo, Taiyou, Watari and L what they had found. All three of them got rid of most of their weapons bar a few that never left them.

As usual, the photos and other information that was recorded was sent to L through Watari's computer. Hoshi showed everyone the letter, which had yet another address on it. Kumo was back to looking up the address and home owners and such. Taiyou was watching the guy in the interrogation room on his computer's camera feed and he told them that he had woken up.

He put the camera's connection up onto the large TV screen on one of the walls and they all watched as Tsuki left the room without a word.

"Where is she going?" L asked out of the blue.

"She's going to interrogate the guy we captured. Just watch this. She is an expert at reading body language and expressions." Kumo answered with a slightly awed tone, recalling all the time that she had caught out lies that no one else could have.

A few moments later, the door opened and Tsuki strolled in the room, sat down on the opposite side from the man and casually put her booted feet up on the table. Then, she just stared at him. Back in the office, the others just watched, knowing what she was doing. Kumo kept L and Watari informed of exactly what she was doing so they would understand.

"Right now, she's just evaluating his current state before she starts asking him anything. Her stare is pretty unnerving too sometimes, and there has been occasions where the suspect has just confessed after she stared at them for a few minutes."

Tsuki took her feet down off the table, and let one dangle but bent the other at the knee and brought it to her chest and rested her hands on it. She noticed that he looked a bit angry, a betrayed, but fear was the most prominent emotion on his face.

"What's your name?" she asked suddenly, her emotionless voice coming through her mask.

"H-Hachirou Takumi." he choked out after a pause.

"Are you wearing a black jacket right now?" Tsuki said, and her head tilted to the right a little in wait for his answer. Confusion crossed over his face, and it was obvious by now that he was not going to be a good liar let alone control his expressions well enough.

"Yes." he answered, his fear showing through in his shaky voice.

She suddenly got up and walked over to him and drew a kunai from her leg holster. His eyes went wide with surprise and fear and she resisted the urge to chuckle at seeing him jump to conclusions. She strolled around behind his chair and cut his plasti-cuffs with the kunai. The hands showed a lot of things, so it would help to have them off.

He clenched his hands a few times and rubbed his wrists before lacing his fingers together and sitting them on the table, feeling a little more confident now that she hadn't cut his throat or something. Tsuki went and sat back down in her chair, sitting the way she was just before she got up. She had got a base for how he was looking at the moment, so now she could get down to business.

"Do you know of the group called the Aka Sora, Takumi?"

"No." he replied after a pause that was too quick to pull it off.

"That's a lie. Did you watch the news last night?"

"Um, yeah. Why does that matter?"

"That was true. And it matters because if you did, you would have seen the report on the Aka Sora and that they've killed thirteen innocent people in cold blood." Tsuki answered, her voice still blank and unrevealing, yet intimidating at the same time. He gently rubbed his finger tips across his brow and looked downward. "Ah, so you are a part of the group?" she added.

"Hah, she's got him now. He just showed a sign of shame." Kumo said, directing it at L and Watari who most likely weren't used to these kind of methods.

"No, I'm not a part of that group. That's ridiculous!" Takumi exclaimed loudly, trying to prove himself.

"And that's a lie too. Tell me, why did you come back to the house? Were you looking for something?" she asked casually, and reached inside her pocket. "Maybe...this?" she pulled the key out, that was still in the evidence bag.

Hoshi turned around in his seat to find the key that was on his desk a few minutes ago gone. Damn, she was quick. Kumo, Ame and Taiyou both noticed that it was gone when Hoshi did and he looked at them and shrugged.

Takumi's arm turned out to the right a little and his eyebrow also twitched a little, but he denied the claim that he was going back for the key and tried to make up some story that wouldn't have convinced a 5 year old.

"Another lie. Look, just tell me the truth, and this will be so much easier for the both of us." Tsuki offered and leant back in her seat casually, one knee still pulled to her chest.

"I'm telling you that I'm not lying!"

"Really? Because your arm and your eyebrow told me otherwise."

Back in the office, Ame was smirking beneath his mask. He really enjoyed seeing Tsuki's talent and he would bet money on the fact that Watari and L himself would be impressed. Even better yet, most of it was simply natural talent, and she had only been taught for a year about the science of deception by one of their previous agents. Taiyou was nodding fractionally, glad to see Tsuki doing so well already.

"What, did my arm and my eyebrow communicate with you telepathetically or something?" he said with a sarcastic tone that made her narrow her eyes at him, which he saw through her mask.

"You could make it easier for yourself to comprehend and say that. Now...what does this key unlock?" she asked and kept her main focus on his eyebrows, which he couldn't seem to control too well. He turned his gaze away from hers and sighed dramatically while shaking his head.

"I don't know."

"I thought I said to  _stop_  lying. Does it lock or unlock a room in the house or the house itself?... Apparently not." she added quietly after seeing nothing. "Does it unlock the warehouse that was marked with the 'Sora' kanji?"

Nothing again.

"How about this...is it the key for  _your_  house or apartment? Ah! There it is." she saw his eyebrow twitch again and his eyes widened a little in surprise. That's where the key was for. "Kumo." she said and got up from the chair and walked out the door without a word.

Within a few minutes, she was back up stairs and coming through the two large doors and down the hall. By then, Kumo had pulled up Takumi's address and Hoshi and Ame were waiting for her and Taiyou's orders.

"Ame. Go check it out." Taiyou said and said man looked to Tsuki, who nodded once almost imperceptibly. Taiyou narrowed his eyes at the thought that crossed his mind about it seeming like Tsuki was the first in charge.

All of them did have a lot of respect for her, and he knew that they all trusted her with their lives, so it shouldn't surprise him too much. But the least they could do was make it a little less obvious in front of their highest commanding agent.

The black haired man began arming himself yet again and Tsuki grabbed his version of their mask that had a tiny camera built into it and gave it to him, as well as the key so that they could all see what was going on since she wasn't going and also she had a good idea. She had had enough of checking out almost worthless leads, and would probably lose her temper if they didn't find anything in this guy's place, and she was the only one who could help them out while being here.

He headed out immediately and they all discussed several options and what else they might be able to get out of Takumi and what they may find at his place. L was mostly silent, but when they spoke, they agreed with Tsuki's input for the most part, which made her feel a little smug, even though she still didn't really want L here.

They waited for a while and Tsuki went downstairs to set up a TV in the interrogation room, and she sat in the seat she had before and kept an eye on Takumi, who looked rather freaked out. Ame arrived at the apartment building, and tried to not draw too much attention to himself as he went inside, up the elevator and to the correct door. The key went in the lock, and he turned it until he heard it click and the door slowly swung open.

The inside of Hachirou's apartment was revealed to them all. It was pretty plain, minimally furnished, but there was several boxes with new appliances such as TV's and DVD players in them.

"So, where should we be looking? Living room?...Bathroom?...Bedroom? Ame, go to the bedroom." she said to him over the headset microphone when Takumi's micro-expression of fear told her that the bedroom was the place they needed to look.

Tsuki didn't take her eyes off his face and her stare was intense and almost burning a hole through him, but it was completely emotionless, revealing nothing about her thoughts and she knew that she was definitely getting under Takumi's skin. It wouldn't be long before he cracked. Ame began to walk towards the bed and bedside table and she watched as brown eyes averted away from the screen.

"Is it under the bed?...Bedside table? Bedside table it is."

Fear came over his face, even though he tried to hide it as much as possible, he knew that this chick was too good to miss it, and he waited for the inevitable as the guy called 'Ame' got closer to his bedside table.

Ame opened the top draw and searched through it, but didn't find anything other than a few morally questionable magazines and a few random letters from banks and such. He opened the bottom draw, and Takumi's eyes widened fractionally, and his lips were pressed tightly together. They'd found something.

A small note that had an address scribbled down on it was sitting underneath a few other random letters and other things, and Taiyou told Ame to take it for evidence and Tsuki turned her piercing blue eyes back on Takumi to watch his reaction. There was a hint of anger in his fearful expression, and he was almost glaring at Ame. It almost looked like it could be homicidal intent and she instantly started getting angry at a realisation she just had.

She kicked his chair hard out of nowhere, and he went flying into the wall and hit his head before the chair tipped over. Without bothering to check if he was even conscious, she stormed out, shutting the door behind her.

Intimidation radiated off her and everyone stepped out of her way, even squishing themselves up against walls as she made the trip back up to the fourth floor. When she walked in the office, the other men in the room froze up a little, Kumo especially and she glared at the screen with Takumi still on the ground before sharing her epiphany.

"Ame, get out of there. Now. This was a set-up." she said with faint urgency, and crossed her arms over her chest.

"What? Why do you think that?" Ame asked through the headset as he continued searching the apartment.

"That guy is an idiot. He couldn't control his expressions at all, and he even said 'telepathetically'. Whoever is running the Aka Sora clearly knew this guy was going to trust them without question and when he first came in here he looked quite angry and betrayed. I'll bet that he was told to go back and get the key so we could bust into his apartment and find the note. Why else would it be his apartment key?" she summarised quickly and glared at the screen with Takumi's still form on it again.

"Which would mean that the apartment is being watched." L piped up, putting their two cents in, understanding Tsuki's logic.

"Exactly." she agreed and Ame nodded, making the camera move up and down abruptly and she turned to Kumo. "Get the blueprints and 3D layout for the building. We have to find the best way out for him as soon as possible."

"Already on it." Kumo replied, typing away on his computer like mad.

"Get away from the windows and stand somewhere that you can see the front door from." Tsuki told Ame, and watched as he moved to stand in the kitchen that had a perfect view of the door, and he could crouch down behind the counter and not be seen.

"Got it." Kumo exclaimed and Tsuki walked over to him and inspected the 3D view of the building that was on the screen.

"Elevator is out. It's too confronting, and impossible to fight in. Looks like your going to have to take the stairs. But I have an idea, so don't go anywhere yet." Tsuki said, and remembered that Ame had parked the car about a block away. "Kumo, can you hack into the electricity systems and give that whole block a black out?"

The man's eyes widened, but it just might be enough of a surprise to get Ame out safely. He nodded and went to work. Within a few moments, he was ready to turn off the power for that whole entire block, and Tsuki gave him the command and instantly all the lights went out. Ame got out his small night vision goggles and put them on and made his way out of the apartment, remembering to lock the door behind him and bring the key.

Kumo turned on the mask camera's night vision so they could see what was going on as well and they watched as he stalked silently through the apartment building and towards the door for the stairs. He opened it and looked up and down for signs of people. There was no one there, so he started down the stairs as fast as he could whilst being silent and keeping a look out for people.

He was down to the first level, when he heard a door open on the level above him. Everyone in the office heard it as well, and reflexively tensed, and Tsuki's hand twitched almost imperceptibly for the feel of her weapon, even though she was no where near danger at the moment.

She couldn't help but feel a little worried for Ame, and they all watched as he continued down the stairs. If it was someone coming after him, the door probably wouldn't have made any noise, and when he got out of the ground level door, and out the back so he could go out through the back door, which he could probably pick the lock on, and did so successfully.

Keeping to the shadows, and staying as calm as possible, he made his way back to the car, got in and locked the doors. When he did, everyone let out the breath they had been holding, and when Ame went to take off his night vision goggles, Tsuki told him to drive with them on, and not turn the headlights on.

Ame kept them on and started driving, even though it was very odd and a little difficult to do so. When he got out of the block that was still completely dark, Tsuki gave him the all clear and he took off the goggles and turned on his headlights.

"Ame, don't come back straight away. Drive around for an hour or so, and make sure that no one is tailing you. And when you do come back, park away from the building." Tsuki said, worrying that someone might be following him and somehow find their headquarters which would be the worst thing possible.

"Sure. I can't see anyone behind me right now, but we can't be too careful." he confirmed and drove around for a while before he guessed that it would be okay to come back.

He parked two blocks away from their headquarters and stealthily made his way back on foot. Everyone let the other breath they had been holding when he walked in the door and Hoshi threw a scrunched up ball of paper, Kumo smirked, while Tsuki just nodded once at him, as their ways of saying that they were glad he was back and in one piece. Taiyou commended him on doing a good job and Ame handed over the note with the address on it.

Kumo immediately began tracking down the address, and who owned the place. Tsuki noticed complete shock on his face and he called them all over to see. The picture of the owner was a pretty blonde woman with glasses.

Superintendent Kotone Fuyuko.

"Shit." Hoshi said, his brows furrowed. They all lifted their heads up and looked to the computer sitting on Watari's desk when L spoke.

"I believe it is Aka Sora telling us who their next victim is." they said simply, and went back to silent observation.

Meanwhile, Tsuki was already arming herself while L spoke, clearly thinking along the same lines and scolded Hoshi and Ame for not already doing the same. They both had a mental 'Damn it' moment before going straight over to the cupboard and Hoshi armed himself while Ame just put the majority of the weapons he had placed on his desk back to where they belonged on his person. They didn't even bother putting their headsets on, instead just having an unspoken agreement to use Ame's which hadn't been taken off yet.

Kumo had already started using satellite images to look at the Superintendent's house, but saw no one outside the building. The three agents ran down to one of the other car's since the other was in the opposite direction to the one they were going in. Tsuki got in the driver's seat and they sped off, hoping to get to Kotone's house before anyone from Aka Sora did. She hadn't really planned on heading out again tonight, but this just couldn't be delayed.

They sped through the streets until they got to her house. Under the street light, they could see the 'Sora' kanji, painted in red on her front door.

It was too late.

Hesitantly, they got out of the car, and walked up to the house cautiously. Since the Aka Sora had clearly finished their 'business', it was doubtful that they would stick around inside and as they all pulled on a pair of gloves, carefully opened the door which wasn't even locked or shut properly, and two sets of eyes averted, and one set just closed for a few moments.

Kotone was laying in a small puddle of blood that had soaked into the carpet with 'A.S' painted in red on her chest. She had been stabbed twice in the chest. Also, she had a letter next to her. Hoshi took the initiative and picked it up and put it straight in an evidence bag. He began to look around for any evidence that they could use, but there was absolutely nothing to be found and she couldn't risk moving anything in case there was finger prints.

There was no reason to hang around and she didn't want to risk contaminating the scene, so Tsuki got out her cell phone and called the Chief Superintendent. He was told the news once he woke up a little bit, and took a deep shaky breath before saying that he would be right over to their building. She knew that he probably wouldn't be able to come to the scene itself, so she didn't question it.

Ame was taking photos of the scene to show to everyone, and Tsuki also called some of the lower level workers that cleaned up and did all sorts of forensic tests on these sort of scenes. When Ame had finished taking photos and Hoshi had finished looking around, they all gathered outside and silently agreed to head back.

The drive back was quiet, aside from the radio that was turned down so low that it was barely audible. No one bothered to say anything like 'We couldn't get there in time' or some other sugar coated words since it just wasn't their style. They failed. Enough said.

Both Hoshi and Ame knew that Tsuki was going to give the Takumi guy a hell of a time when they got back to headquarters, which with her usually involved some sort of pain. No one had been brave enough to question her methods before, since they had always worked, but there would definitely be no protests this time.

All three of them hopped out of the car, and went up to the fourth floor. They sat in silence, all contemplating what the hell they should do. Several minutes later, the Chief arrived and they let him in. He was clearly not handling the news well and he sat down, adapting perfectly to the quiet. Kumo wasn't even typing on the keyboard, or clicking the mouse.

Abruptly, Tsuki got an idea. "We need to have a press conference. First thing tomorrow."

"I agree." Taiyou spoke up and nodded his head. "We should tell the public that the Aka Sora has been caught. We cannot have mass panic."

"You are right that we cannot have mass panic. But clearly these guys aren't interested in how much attention they draw to themselves. If we say that they've been caught, they'll just do something that disproves it. We won't be able to say it's 'just a prank' or 'copycats' forever." she retorted professionally and appreciated it when L spoke.

"Tsuki is right. I think we should announce my assistance with the investigation."

"And I agree." she said and crossed her arms. "That will cause them to be a little more careful, and we may be able to flush them out, or force them to make a rash move." she couldn't help but agree with L. They thought along the same lines as each other, and her respect for them had grown since they had first started working together.

"Fair enough." Taiyou said, knowing he was defeated. "First thing tomorrow then."


	4. The Star

**Chapter 4 – The Star**

"Good morning members of the press. I am Chief Superintendent Hiroshi Ataru and I'd like to announce a very important fact about the search for the mysterious 'Aka Sora' group that killed thirteen innocent people recently. We have been contacted by Watari, the only person who can get into contact with the detective, L, to tell us that L will be participating in the search with us." he said confidently, looking out to see the many eager faces holding notepads, pens, and various cameras and microphones as well as recorders.

As soon as he stopped talking he was immediately hounded with questions, and the noise level almost tripled in the large room before the crowd eventually calmed down and were able to answer questions, one at a time. He gestured to one woman, who stood up and started talking immediately in a professional tone.

"Chief Superintendent, do you have any leads on finding the 'Aka Sora' at all?" the dark haired woman asked, her pen waiting to scribble down whatever he said on her small notepad.

"Yes, we have. They have managed to keep under the radar for a few days, but we are certain that they will pop up again, and that is when we shall catch them." he replied and pointed to another journalist who cleared his throat before voicing his question.

Back in the headquarters, small dexterous hands clenched into fists slightly hoping that he didn't say anything stupid as they watched the press conference on TV. More or less anything _else_ stupid. Hiroshi was already being too specific and avoiding giving himself enough wiggle room. What would he say when in a few days if the Aka Sora struck and then struck again only a while after he had said that they would be caught the next time they appeared?

Taiyou should have let her read his speech. He had already been much too descriptive and used too many adjectives and wasn't broad enough. It was a very touchy issue, and she was quite sure that there would be some ridiculous front page headlines tomorrow.

"Why have the identities of those that were killed not been released?"

"Well, the families of the victims have been notified of course, and we believe that giving the Aka Sora's victims public recognition would just make them enjoy it all the more." the Chief replied and Tsuki smirked inwardly at him using her line. First smart thing that he had done during the conference, and it would probably be the only smart move.

Hiroshi pointed to another reporter and hoped that the next question wasn't too bad. He was lucky that Tsuki had scared the hell out of him so damn much that he vividly recalled the line she told him to say if they were asked about the victim's identities being released.

" _I-I have my speech sorted." he said, trying to ignore the fact that the only woman in the room was moving her head a little to try and get a glimpse of what he wrote._

" _Let me have a look at it. You have to step carefully with this and I won't have you jeopardising our investigation by saying the wrong thing." Tsuki stated coldly, staring straight at him with icy blue eyes through her mask._

" _I'm sure the Chief Superintendent can handle a simple speech." Taiyou glared back at her, getting her attention after she felt his gaze on her. She spared no time and had no qualms about turning her piercing stare on her boss, and they had a small battle of wits through their eyes before Taiyou rolled his eyes at her temper and turned away._

_She got up, and walked to lean over Hiroshi who leant back in his seat as Tsuki got closer. He could see her hand on a kunai in her leg holster out of the corner of his eye and he knew that pissing this woman off would be a bad move._

" _Well, here's the thing. If you do end up saying the wrong thing, I guarantee you that I will not let you in this building again." she promised quietly, trying to not make it bleedingly obvious that she was_ kind of _threatening him. "Just remember this: when someone asks you about why the victims identities haven't been released, tell them that it would only make the Aka Sora enjoy it more. It's the only plausible excuse for it."_

_The black-haired woman stood back up to her full height, which was probably only 5 feet and five inches tall. It was all the more intimidating that she could take down guys probably twice her size without breaking a sweat. He resisted the urge the shudder and swallowed before nodding and making some sort of sound of confirmation. She watched his reaction, looking for deception, but found none, so she walked back over to her own desk and sat down with one knee bent and pulled up to her chest._

"Do you think that the Aka Sora is some sort of terrorist group?" the reporter asked, his hand-held recorder at the ready.

"Well, we cannot be sure of that just yet. The only important thing is at the moment that they have committed terrible crimes, and _must_ be caught as soon as possible." he stated with such resolution, that almost made Tsuki smirk under her mask. Maybe she could allow him back in the building after all.

He refused to answer any more questions and stepped down from the podium and the TV channel went from the conference room to the news room and Ame switched it off with the remote.

"What do you reckon Tsuki? Is he coming back in the building?" Kumo asked playfully and he saw the tiny nod of her head, and he had gotten his answer. He knew that she would be impressed by his conviction, but chances were that she would probably still intimidate the shit out of him just to get him back.

"So, while we're waiting for the results of Kotone's autopsy, we should take a look at those letters. We were all too worn out to do it last night." Ame offered, since his curiosity was just buzzing at finding something they could use.

He walked over and picked them up from Taiyou's desk, and everyone except Watari simultaneously got up and went over to have a look since they were at the desk straight in front of him. They didn't bother with the gas masks this time, just hoping that it would be okay and they all put on a pair of surgical gloves before Tsuki did the honours again and pulled each letter out of their evidence bags.

She opened the letter they had found at the empty house first, and it almost seemed like it was written in some sort of code. They all racked their brains to try and figure out what it meant, but Tsuki's deductive abilities kicked in, and she turned to the other one to open it. As she did that, Taiyou figured it out and slowly the others did as well.

There was a paper and pen on the desk, which Tsuki grabbed, and she glanced at both letters and started writing down what turned out to be a combination of both letters. Both of them were missing various letters out of the words.

_W , ou' e fig d t ut. T is m s ll e ve on us g fo y . Bu I p om s , h on y ju be n in ._

_l o e, ou' e fig d i t. T i ve on f ing r ou. Bu p om s , t u i on y ju gi n g._

But, together, the letters made sense.

_Well done, you've figured it out. This must all be very confusing for you. But I promise, the fun is only just beginning._

Tsuki studied the message for a few minutes, before her fists and jaw clenched angrily. She stepped back, her right hand twitching over her leg holster, and she tried to calm herself as much as possible. Taiyou knew that something was wrong, but didn't say anything, instead just tried to figure out what had got her angry.

With a flash that was almost too quick for the eye to see, three kunai went straight into wall across from her, forming a perfect horizontal line.

"They read our moves." She explained quietly, but she wasn't able to keep the fury from her voice no matter how much she tried. "They knew that we wouldn't have wasted any time once we found out about Kotone and gone to the scene straight away. They knew that we wouldn't have read the letters until we had both of them."

Her temper was rising by the moment, and with another flash she had slammed her clenched fist into the wall behind her, putting a nice big hole in it. A few minutes of dead silence past, four of the five men and one computer in the room knowing that if they spoke, they would also become nothing more than target practice or a punching bag just like the walls and the others just followed their lead.

The silence was broken by the buzzer, letting them know that someone was at the door. With a deep breath, Tsuki turned and walked down the hall, hoping that this would be the report for Kotone's autopsy.

Luckily enough, it was, because she did have a fleeting thought that she might end up killing anyone else and she took it from their hand before shutting the door and making her way back down the hall. She sat down in her usual position at her desk and studied the report. There was nothing unusual about the contents of her stomach, and the toxicology and blood work was negative for her being drugged or given any harmful substances.

Everything was completely negative for anything abnormal, except for the section written on her cause of death. Apparently, she had bled out from the stab wounds that had been created by some sort of odd weapon, maybe a special dagger or kunai. It said that one side had been serrated, but the other just a normal cutting edge and that usually this would suggest a dagger, but the size and shape of the entry wound was just like a kunai.

Something in this gave her a flash back to past events, and she spaced out for a moment before Taiyou asked her if she was finished reading the report. She nodded absently and got up. No one bothered her as she walked down the hall and out the door, and continued to the elevator on their floor. She went down to the basement level, where their morgue was.

The pathologist was a little confused when she asked to see Kotone's body, but obliged and lifted back the white material so Tsuki could look at the stab wounds. They looked familiar, but it wasn't like the weapon she had been thinking of couldn't have been mass produced.

She lifted her leg up and got out a kunai from the holster around her shin that had a slightly serrated edge on one side that had belonged to an ex-comrade and the pathologist confirmed that it was definitely that sort of weapon, but it wasn't anywhere near serrated enough to be the right weapon and also that it was barely sharp at all. Tsuki nodded and thanked him briefly for his help and went back upstairs.

Nothing was said to anyone else and she sat back down and started looking up random weapons on her computer. Maybe that could help them make connections between whether this was a few people using the same weapons or not. Kumo was going to ask her what it was, but he knew that if she had figured something out, she would have told them, so he didn't bother.

It was silent for at least the next hour and everyone did research on different things and tried to find anything that might help even a little bit. Suddenly, Watari spoke up out of nowhere. He had been as silent as the chair he had been sitting on all day, and no one had really bothered to be concerned about him since he just sat there, doing nothing the whole time.

"It is time for me to go." he said out loud, and began packing up the computer that L communicated with them through. "I will return later on today. Please notify me on this number if anything should happen." he lifted out a small business card with nothing but a cell number on it and placed it on the desk that the letters were still sitting on.

Everyone gave him a respectful nod, and he left.

* * *

It didn't take Watari too long to get back to new hotel that him and Ryuzaki were staying at, since they had moved a little closer to the Sora Ops building, and he greeted him before preparing some food for the young man who was looking up things on his computer, as per usual.

He was currently thinking over their options. It seemed like Hachirou Takumi didn't know anything and was most likely nothing more than bait for them, and unfortunately had a minor concussion, so he was a little too scattered to be questioned again. And he would probably wet himself if he saw Tsuki again.

Speaking of her, he was rather intrigued by her. She was normally so composed, but he had seen her snap and indirectly give Takumi a concussion, as well as throw three kunai at a wall and punch a large hole in another wall. It seemed that no matter how much she tried to act like she was unaffected by...well everything, she had a hell of a temper and anyone that got in her way when she was angry would undoubtedly get cut down without a second thought.

The pale-skinned woman was absolutely furious at the idea of someone being able to read their movements and it seemed that she was quite unnerved by the concept of their enemy being capable of doing so. Even though she was only the second in command, she had much more leeway with the other agents and even more so when he agreed with her, which he often did, so he was also quite surprised about their enemy seeing through them.

Now that he thought about it, she seemed to think quite a lot like himself in general. They were both the kind of people who usually considered every single option, detail and scenario and always liked to be 3 steps ahead of their opponent. And they definitely _hated_ to lose.

Also, he couldn't help but be a little interested by what not just her past was, but Kumo, Hoshi, Ame and Taiyou as well. Kumo seemed to have known Tsuki the longest as she actually seemed to joke with him sometimes, and from the way Ame was treated, it seemed like he was the newest member to the Sora Ops. They had quite a tight bond though, something that could only be brought around by going through so much together.

The boys seemed quite defensive when it came to Tsuki, almost like she was a sister to them, and she would more than likely defend them as well. It was almost like they actually were a family, and the black-haired man almost sighed at the thought. All he had through his life was Watari. Granted that wasn't a bad thing, he definitely thought of the man like a father, but he had always wondered what familial and romantic bonds were like.

Just for plain curiosity, he had spent his free time over the years watching movies and TV shows, to pass the time, and he would like to think that through that he was able to get the vague gist of what love – platonic or otherwise – was like, but he was still young, and his mind did tend to wander.

He was snapped out of his reverie by Watari entering the room with a pot of coffee, two cups and saucers and some various different cakes. The older man poured the hot liquid into one cup and slid it over to Ryuzaki, who thanked him and took a sip before reaching for the sugar cubes and changing the ratio of sugar to coffee drastically.

It was mostly silent for a while, as he enjoyed his incessantly sweet coffee and a slice of cake, whilst continuing to go through the case files on his computer over and over again, looking for anything they might have missed and checking the internet for anything new.

At least three or four hours later, Watari got a call from the Sora Ops headquarters on the number he had left for them. He briefly glanced at Ryuzaki who had already picked up on the anxious demeanour and was waiting for some news that they had finally found a lead. Watari answered the phone, and his eyebrows raised as he got the news.

He hung up and looked over to Ryuzaki with a slightly grim expression. He hated to be the bearer of such bad news.

"Ryuzaki. The police station that Chief Superintendent Hiroshi works at has just blown up."

* * *

Tsuki was currently speeding over to the police station with Ame in the passenger side, Hoshi in the back seat, Kumo and Taiyou in her ear. They had to get there as soon as possible to get their own evidence, and look for any signs of letters or other messages that the Aka Sora – who had undoubtedly done this – might have left.

It was like they were being led on a wild goose chase and Tsuki absolutely despised it. There was only one other person who had even come close to being able to read her moves, and they were long dead.

Luckily, it was nearly dark, and Tsuki had told Kumo to put the power out in that block so they could search for evidence undetected. They parked as close as they could, and all three of them basically leapt out of the car and went in three different directions to start searching for clues.

This was the kind of thing they were best at. Running around under the cover of darkness, looking for evidence, anything or anyone suspicious, and getting out of there without being noticed, even if there was 100 people around. The crowd was definitely getting bigger around what was left of the smouldering police station, and people were trying to look for any survivors among the wreckage.

Usually, that's what the Sora Ops would do first, but since there was already people around, they couldn't go and reveal themselves by helping out. They had already split up, and were all sprinting around, trying to find anything they could go off. It was likely that most of the police cars that were already out would return soon, and they had to be gone by that time.

As per usual in this kind of situation, Hoshi looked around the surrounding buildings for any clues, Ame would search around the building but be more of a look out for Tsuki who normally searched the scene itself.

Kumo informed them over their headsets that two police cars were getting closer to their location and would be there very soon. They heard Watari walk in the office at that point but he said nothing and just set up the computer. They sped up their search, still staying undetected and silent as the shadows they hid in. Hoshi's voice suddenly came over the head set, and told them what they wanted to hear.

"I found a letter! It was stuck to the next building's back door." he exclaimed quietly with immense relief in his voice.

"That's great. Go back to the car everyone." Tsuki replied and looked around for anyone before going back in the direction of the car but stopped when she heard something odd over the speaker.

It sounded like signs of a struggle. Kumo seemed to notice as well and he quickly started questioning what was going on with worry in his tone. Taiyou, Watari and L stayed quiet, but the grim look on Taiyou's face suggested that he already knew what was happening.

"Ame, Hoshi. What's going on?" she asked, eyebrows slightly furrowed in confusion under her mask.

"I'm fine, I think it might be Hoshi." Ame's melodic voice resonated through her, and she tensed with wide eyes before sprinting towards where Hoshi said he was last and Ame started doing the same.

They could all hear faint sounds of clashing metal, groans and grunts of pain and heavy breathing. Ame growled a little after recognising a wince from Hoshi and they both put their foot down and were both running as fast as they could. It was only another hundred metres or so for Tsuki, and she didn't need the headsets to hear the much louder groan of pain, and the thud that came after.

Icy blue eyes narrowed and she drew a kunai, ready for action. She looked around in the darkness for anything or anyone and slowly picked up on the scent of blood from near by. Since it was pitch black aside from the still burning flames coming from the police station, she had to rely on her sense of smell to track down the source.

It got stronger, and the metallic scent filled her nostrils until she nearly tripped over the source itself. A body was on the ground and she quickly bent down and put her gloved hands on the body to find a pulse. When she got a hold of an arm, she placed two fingers on the wrist and felt the faintest of pulses.

Her hands trailed up their torso, and her eyebrows furrowed again slightly, and she spaced out even as Ame came up behind her, finally getting there. She got to their head and placed one, small, long-fingered hand on where she knew the face would be, but only came in contact with something hard and solid.

A mask.

Without thinking, she snatched up her flash light from her utility belt and turned it on to find Hoshi's near dead body lying in front of her. Her eyes went wide, and so did Ame's. Kumo, Taiyou, Watari and L were left confused back at headquarters, wondering what the fuck was going on.

A huge deep breath was taken in by Hoshi, who opened his eyes slowly and smirked a little seeing Tsuki and Ame kneeling over him. Again, without thinking, Tsuki lifted a hand up and pulled her mask and her cloth mask underneath off as a sign of deep respect for him. He understood it, and just barely cracked a smile before his features faded into a somewhat distressed expression.

"Ar-Ara-Aras-" he tried to choke out, but one of his lungs had been punctured, so it was almost impossible for him to control his air well enough to speak.

"Don't talk. Just rest, Hoshi." Tsuki scolded lightly, and smiled a little before her and Ame watched him fade away into passing.

"SHIT!" Ame cursed loudly, and his clenched fist smashed into the brick wall next to him.

There was a moment of complete silence, as if even the explosion and the people weren't around. As if nothing existed in that moment aside them. It took Tsuki a moment to make sure that she was composed, but after a minute, she spoke.

"I'll bring the car around." she said quietly in a unwavering voice that held or showed nothing, but the emptiness pushed through a little.

Ame said nothing, and neither did anyone else on the other end, picking up on what happened since none of them had heard Hoshi speak since the sounds of a struggle began. Tsuki rose back up to her full height, turned off her flash light and put it back on her belt before placing a hand on Ame's shoulder in a simple gesture of comfort.

He looked at her, but couldn't think of anything to say, so she dropped her hand and walked past him, and went back to the car. She put the keys in the ignition and started it up, then slowly made her way to where Ame would be with Hoshi and watched as the youngest member of the Sora Ops carried one of the oldest members towards her.

Still, no one said anything, even as Ame laid Hoshi down on the back seat and walked around to open the front passenger door, get in and sit down. The depressive demeanour would not go away, and Tsuki silently drove back to headquarters, barely even taking notice of other cars on the road.

They went through the back-entrance that went straight into the morgue so that they wouldn't be seen by other employees and the pathologist nearly dropped his clipboard after seeing one of their best agents bodies being held in the arms of their newest.

Hoshi was placed down on the gurney and neither Ame or Tsuki wanted to put up with any more, so they left, heading back upstairs and away from the corpse of their comrade. No one really bothered taking much notice of them when they came out of the elevator and towards the big doors leading to their office because they were all so busy, and that was exactly what they needed right now.

When they went through the doors, Kumo stood up and walked over to them. He patted Ame on the back a few times, and briefly wrapped an arm around Tsuki's shoulders and rested his head on top of hers before pulling back and making his way back to his seat.

Tsuki was very appreciative of Kumo's comforting her, but she couldn't handle that much emotional output from everyone around her at once. Even though she was quite frankly socially inept, she did know that this would definitely be a troublesome and painful thing for everyone to handle, so she would have to lay off for a bit.

"Taiyou." she said simply and looked over at him, her eyes telling him what she wanted. He nodded once, got up and went to his office. After rummaging through his file drawer for a few minutes, he pulled out the correct one and walked back out and handed it to Tsuki.

She gave him a quick thankful nod, but gave a sidewards glance towards the computer sitting in front of Watari with the large letter 'L' on the screen. He knew that she was referring to how they couldn't really let Watari and L know about what was in the file without his permission, and he returned her gaze that told her that he had already given L access to those files, which wasn't a lie. He had just forgotten to let L know about it.

With a deep breath, she opened the cover of the folder containing every single bit of information about the man called...Ethan West. He was from a big city in America, and his mother was Japanese where as his father was American. Ethan came over to Japan with his mother when he was about 7 after his father died, and his mother soon followed after getting in a car accident.

"Ethan West." Tsuki said loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. Kumo looked up from his computer, and Ame turned around in his seat.

After she spoke, they both averted their eyes to look in front of them and gazes turned inward as they remembered the first day they met Ethan West, or the man they knew as Hoshi.

The Sora Ops had a rule that whenever any member was killed, the other members had the option to find out who they were, where they came from etc. To learn about the comrade that they had lost. Tsuki had only experienced this once before, and it was terrible.

It was quiet for almost the next two hours, and barely anyone moved from their seats or did much at all, just being so shocked and taken off guard about Hoshi's death. As always, Tsuki was able to keep her eyes cold and unrevealing, and her voice unwavering as they waited.

None of them were really sure of what they were waiting for, but Tsuki had a feeling that it wasn't exactly the autopsy. Kumo and Ame both kept glancing at L's computer screen which she was able to see clearly from her vantage point at the back of the room, as if waiting for them to say something and magically solve the case.

But L had barely said a word all day, and they weren't able to examine the letter yet, since their could be fingerprints on it from whoever had killed Hoshi, so they had nothing to do until either the forensics or the autopsy was finished.

Ame was clearly the most affected by it all, not having experienced losing a comrade before. He had always gotten along well with Hoshi and their different styles clicked perfectly on missions. Kumo was able to keep himself in check, although not as well as Tsuki. They were all used to seeing death and what not, but when it was their own comrade that had fought beside them countless times, it couldn't do anything aside turn inwards.

"Everyone." the silence was broken by the fuzzy voice coming from the computer speakers signaling L's voice.

They all turned to face the computer, to see the words that would change the course of this case.

' _I would like to meet with you..._ '


	5. The Meeting

**Chapter 5 – The Meeting  
**

_'I would like to meet with you...'_

The words repeated in her head as she walked up the stairs. She was wearing her usual black pants, with her boots on as well, and a casual dark grey tank top that she hadn't even taken out of her draw in about a year since she hadn't needed it, a nice warm jacket, and a black scarf that tactfully wrapped around to cover the lower half of her face.

Usually something like that would turn heads, but she knew how to blend in and stay under the radar so no unnecessary attention was drawn to her. And if something like that did happen, she only _appeared_ to be unarmed. A member of the Sora Ops never walked around unarmed. Even when at home.

She continued walking up the stairs until she got to the right floor and opened the door that revealed the long hallway. Glancing at the numbers on the doors, she kept on going until she finally saw the number 613.

Casually, she lifted the door card out of her pants pocket and swiped it through the small machine attached to the door. The red light flickered to green and the door was unlocked. She opened the door and stepped inside, simultaneously pulling her Sora Ops mask out of her jacket and over her face and cautiously looked around until she saw Ame, Kumo, and Taiyou sitting around a small coffee table in the middle of the room .

Another person in the room caught her attention. It was an old, bespectacled man wearing a smart, but not too formal suit and a kind expression on his face. Her blue orbs focused on him, and she deduced before he could react that going by his body size and height that he was Watari. He walked over to her and bowed politely and respectfully.

"My condolences, Tsuki." he said sympathetically with a hint of sadness in his voice.

When he stood back up, he offered to take her coat, but she declined politely as she could and walked over to sit down with the others. As per usual, Ame and Kumo both had their masks on, and they both greeted her with their eyes as they had become used to doing.

Tsuki could tell that they were still both pretty shaken by Hoshi's death, and she couldn't deny that she was too, and had even allowed a break in her emotional wall and shed a single tear for him when she had arrived home after everyone had decided to call it a day and get some rest. Taiyou was also upset, but he had been doing this sort of thing for years, so he wasn't too shaken by it all.

She noticed Watari going into another room, and he came out a moment later and everyone could feel the suspense rising.

"L will be with you in a moment." he spoke and bowed his head a little before moving off to do something else that no one really paid attention to, since all eyes were focused on the door he had entered and come out of.

The discussion - or argument, more or less – from this morning kept running through her head.

_Watari had just left, and Taiyou was walking him out of the building like he did every now and then. Back in the office, predictably enough, Tsuki was having her own little tantrum in a very serious, rational and emotionless manner. Ame and Kumo were going to have to try and get through to her._

" _This is a ridiculous idea. L is_ not _in charge of this investigation. The Sora Ops are the ones being targeted, as well as anyone that we've worked with previously, therefore it is_ our _responsibility. If we meet with L, they will gain control of this operation and when it concerns_ my _agents that I work with day in and day out, risking our lives to complete our missions, I will not allow any usurpation of the lead." Tsuki hissed tonelessly, ignoring the gazes of her co-workers._

_It wasn't that she wanted the top job. In fact, she didn't want to be removed from the field at all. And it certainly wasn't a case of ambitiousness or wanting Taiyou gone. She just wanted this all sorted as soon as possible and to get back at whoever was harming her comrades as well as the others._

_She had worked with Hoshi for a long time and they had become good friends and comrades and when her life and the lives of her comrades were on the line, she wanted to know that they would be as safe as could be. To achieve that, they would need to solve this case swiftly, and L being around and in charge would undoubtedly limit her input and how much she would be listened to._

_Inevitably, L would get in her way, which wouldn't turn out well for them. The only way she could make sure that she was in control is if she immediately spoke up and told everyone how this was going to go. This was the kind of case she specialised in solving, and she would make damn sure that her expertise would contribute to solving it._

_There would be no way that she would just lay down and let L make all the decisions. Hell, she had completely ignored Taiyou's orders on a frequent basis, so L wasn't a huge step up from there. And besides, as if she would allow L to make decisions when they didn't have as many years of field experience under their belt, let alone any._

" _You can't just pass up the offer to meet L, Tsuki! This might help us a lot. Just have a bit of faith!" Ame attempted to reason with her, hoping that she would listen but knowing how stubborn she was, it would take a lot of effort for her to agree._

" _Yes, I can. And faith has nothing to do with it. I do not care for the privileges of meeting L, and I do not care for L being any more involved in this case than they already are. I have even less interest in unmasking myself to gain L's trust either." she retorted sharply, staring Ame down without restraint._

" _Tsuki, as if we have a choice. You know that Taiyou will undoubtedly want to meet with him, so there's not much point in fighting it." Kumo said very nonchalantly from behind his computer, sounding very uninterested in the argument and knowing Tsuki well enough to not bother contesting with her and instead just telling her how it would most likely end up._

_Before the blue-eyed woman could reply or even turn to glare at Kumo, the two large doors opened down the hall and Taiyou strolled in, looking serious and resolute. He glanced at Tsuki, who had now turned her head just enough to see him, and she closed her eyes in preparation of what he was going to say, since she was quite sure she already knew what he was about to say._

" _We are going to meet with L, and I will not tolerate any arguing of my decision." he spoke loudly and confidently, with his brown eyes scanning the mask-covered faces in the room, but tactfully ignoring Tsuki, since he knew she would hate this idea and he was certain that while he was out of the room, telling Watari that they would meet with L as soon as possible._

" _I am arguing your decision. This should be our responsibility. L shouldn't have even been here in the first place." the black-haired woman turned her head back to look in front of her and growled a little under her breath, just releasing a bit of anger and stress in the small gesture._

" _Tsuki, I will suspend you from this case indefinitely if you do not obey my orders." Taiyou puffed his chest up subconsciously after seeing Tsuki's hand twitching for the feel of a weapon like she always did when she was beyond furious. Blank, toneless and unrevealing she may be. But her temper was almost unrivalled by anyone he had ever met before._

_She turned her head back again to look at him with pure cold fury raging in her icy orbs and scoffed incredulously, since she knew that there would be no way he could stop her from working on it._

_For the next few moments while they battled wits through their stares which was a quite often occurrence around the office, Taiyou thought about his options. He could always put on her house arrest, and not allow her to leave the premises. But if he did that, as soon as he got far enough away, she would disable the ankle monitor without setting it off and run off. Or, she might just leave anyway and he couldn't spare any of the lower level agents to keep watch on her. And she'd probably just beat them up if they tried to stop her._

_In fact, there wasn't really any realistic way that he could restrain her. He sighed and brought his hand up to his face and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and middle finger with his eyes closed and still felt Tsuki's gaze on him._

" _Tsuki...please. Just go with my decision on this. I believe having more assistance from L can only increase our productiveness. And in case you have forgotten, I am in charge here and I will enforce that if necessary." he said almost pleadingly after taking his hand away from his face._

" _Well, I think working with L would be a good idea. And Taiyou is right. We can get more work done with more man power and with L resources." Ame put in, trying to help convince Tsuki, even though he knew that he would probably pay for it later._

" _You're outnumbered Tsuki. I would love to work with L so I don't have to hack into every damn thing that we're not supposed to use. And think of the gadgets we could use." Kumo drawled dreamily, as if imagining how much easier his work would be right then and there, which was definitely true._

_With one last Arctic wind glare at all of them, Tsuki mumbled something along the lines of 'Fine', walked back to her desk and sat down with a loud thump. She knew that she had lost, and she would just have to trust in everyone else's judgement and hope that they would be able to solve this case faster._

 

* * *

 

About a minute later, it opened to reveal the person known as L, the world's greatest detective who had solved numerous cases that the police couldn't, on their own. And none of them expected what they saw.

A young man of average height with a slim build, pale skin, messy black hair, dark eyes with rings underneath them, wearing a simple white, long sleeved shirt and blue jeans walked out, casual as can be.

 _This_ was L?

If Tsuki wasn't so shocked at his odd appearance, she probably would have laughed out loud. He looked like he barely ate, or slept, and his complexion was as pale as her own, and his hair just as jet black. He was probably only her age or a bit younger by the looks of it. She couldn't help but notice that he was kind of cute looking, in the way that he just looked hopeless and nothing like she had expected.

Taiyou wasn't at all shocked by his appearance, having dealt with odder looking specialists and agents in his life before and stood up then walked over to L. He bowed respectfully and shook L's hand confidently.

"It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Taiyou, the first in charge of the Sora Ops. Thank you for wanting to meet with us." he spoke with respect and almost admiration of the young man standing in front of him.

Ame stood up next and walked over to stand in front of L and followed Taiyou's example of bowing and shaking L's hand as Taiyou went and sat back down. Kumo also got up and waited his turn to greet L.

"I'm Ame, the newest addition to the Sora Ops. It's a honour to meet you." he near exclaimed and Tsuki could tell that he was smiling under his mask.

"Kumo, technology guy and resident hacker. Pleasure." he offered simply and casually after shaking L's hand.

Tsuki decided that she would be polite, so that they could at least have met on a good foot. Besides, she couldn't lie to herself and say that she didn't respect him. He was the most powerful justice system embodied in a person.

She strolled over, and watched L's dark and analysing eyes look her up and down as he had with the others, but eyed her with a little more interest which didn't get past her amazingly observant eyes. The woman gave him a quick nod before introducing herself.

"Tsuki. Second in charge with 9 years of experience and deception expertise." she rolled off the top of her head, making sure that L knew exactly what kind of calibre agent he was dealing with here.

He nodded back to her, with a tiny smirk that she easily noticed and she was sure that he would have known that she'd pick up on it. L turned to where everyone was seated and walked over to sit in a single chair that was adjacent to where Tsuki was sitting.

Watari suddenly walked in the room and put down a cup of coffee in front of each person, a bowl with sugar cubes in it, and a small jug with milk in it. L began placing sugar cubes into his coffee until he had nearly used half the bowl while Taiyou, Ame, Kumo and Tsuki watched him with confused curiosity.

"As I'm sure you have already realised, I will need for all of you to be unmasked whilst here. Also, I must ask you to call me Ryuzaki instead of L for safety purposes. I don't believe your code-names will be an issue, so please continue using them." he informed them quietly and calmly, and took a sip of his ridiculously sweet coffee.

"We did realise that. Ame, Kumo, Tsuki, unmask yourselves." Taiyou ordered, even though he was expecting some sort of rebellious behaviour from Tsuki.

Ame and Kumo both removed their masks to reveal their faces. L, or Ryuzaki, studied both of them carefully before turning to Tsuki, who was very reluctant about this part. Taiyou cleared his throat, which was his way of enforcing his orders on her. She closed her eyes to prevent herself from rolling them and took off her mask to reveal the one underneath.

L noticed the mask and minutely raised an eyebrow, but was quickly distracted by Tsuki's icy blue eyes opening that he never really saw the proper colour of from behind the mask. She made eye contact with him, but it was broken by the sound of a quiet sigh from Taiyou.

"That mask too...Tsuki." he commanded, sounding like he really couldn't have been bothered telling her something she already knew but knew he had to say it for her to actually do it.

Her eyes narrowed at her boss for a moment, before she lifted a hand up towards her face. Ame and Kumo leaned forward slightly in suspense, since neither of them had ever seen what Tsuki looked like under that mask. Taiyou had known what she looked like most of her life, but he hadn't seen her face for almost 2 years now, and he was actually a little intrigued to see how she had changed.

Tsuki hooked her pointer finger underneath the mask and pulled it down far enough so that everyone would be able to see her face for the short amount of time she had planned on revealing it.

Ame's jaw dropped, and Kumo, L and even Watari's eyes widened at the sight of the revealed face before them. All five men stared for at least ten seconds before Tsuki got over them staring at her and pulled it back up to it's normal position.

"Wow..." Kumo muttered incredulously, wondering if what he just saw was real.

"Tsuki...you're...you're...really, really beautiful!" Ame blurted out with no existing discretion whatsoever and his jaw still dropped until Tsuki turned to glare at him, which made him avert his eyes and snap his mouth shut.

Kumo just smiled, knowing from her glare that Tsuki was actually quite flattered by Ame's compliment and she only glared at him because he embarrassed her. He knew that Ame was also much younger than both of them and just wouldn't have had the ability to control himself, especially because he's still not able to compose himself outside of missions. But no one really minded, since he usually brought some humour to their days.

"Quite so." L quietly spoke in an off-handed manner before taking a sip of his coffee and continue speaking. "Taiyou. I would like you to stay at your office in the Sora Ops headquarters. I'm sure you will have to deal with your other agents and will have other work to do aside assisting in the solving of this case." he said, as if he had not just sort of agreed with Ame's compliment.

"Yes, I do. I have to make sure my other agents are working on the correct things, and I will also need to be there so I can contact you if they find anything. Also, I'm sure that we'll receive some other missions since this information has only been released to some of our staff, yourself and Watari. The Chief Superintendent and the Superintendent was the only other person to know of the operation outside of the Sora Ops." Taiyou replied informatively.

"Well, you have only been away for a short amount of time. Please return to your office, and let us know if you find anything." Ryuzaki asked in a manner that didn't really leave room for question. Taiyou nodded and looked to Tsuki.

"You are in charge of the field operations for the moment. But I expect a daily progress report, and if you are planning on making a big move, I will be informed immediately and you will _ask_ my permission. I'll send over the results of Hoshi's autopsy and the lab results for the letter when they come in." he exaggerated the 'ask', knowing from experience that Tsuki had a tendency to just tell him how she was going to run an operation as if she was his boss, not the other way around.

"Hai." Tsuki confirmed with a hint of laziness in her voice before taking a sip of her coffee that had cooled down significantly.

"Kumo. Make sure she keeps me updated. And Ame, you now have Hoshi's position in the Sora Ops. Congratulations. But make sure that you show me that you've earned it." the older man announced, and shook Ame's hand briefly before standing up, walking over to the door and bowing to L and Watari before leaving the room.

"Nicely done, Ame. You'll really have to kick it up a notch now." Kumo said and nodded towards him but smiled, because he knew that Ame would be a great agent one day.

"I have faith in your abilities, Ame. Don't let me down." Tsuki congratulated him in her own way, and even allowed the corner of her mouth to turn upwards a little. She was certainly proud of him.

"Shall we get to work?" L asked after a moment of silence. "I would like to tell you about what theories I have about this case."

"Sounds good." Kumo answered for everyone, and drank the last of his coffee.

"It is clear that whoever the Aka Sora are, they have access to police files, and that may mean that they could gain access to your files. So, Kumo, please increase your security as much as possible." the black-haired man suggested politely.

"Not a problem. I'll email my IT team and tell them to keep alert for any unwanted visitors and to triple the security for all our files and databases." the computer master replied, pulling his laptop out and immediately begin composing an email.

"Also, please allow me access to everything you have as well. Your resources are most likely quite vast, and we may need to use everything we can to solve this case." L added, and watched Kumo nod once in acknowledgement.

"Continuing on, clearly whoever attacked and killed your other agent, Hoshi, was as skilled as he was, if not more. We may be dealing with someone who has had very similar training to you, which leads me to believe that this may be someone in the military, or police force. I will even offer the idea that it may be an inside job. Is there any ex-agents you have that might do something like this?" Ryuzaki asked calmly, not realising or caring that he might actually be insulting them by suggesting it was an inside job.

"There is no such thing as an ex-agent in the Sora Ops. You get out of it when you die." Tsuki said morbidly, knowing that it was true.

The only agents good enough to gain the title of Tsuki, Hoshi, Ame, Kumo or Taiyou had to be killed on the field, or die of natural causes to be truly out of the Sora Ops. The issue of an agent being too old had never become an issue because it had never got to that stage. Taiyou was only in his late 40's, but he was no longer a field agent now that he was in charge, so that didn't matter.

"I see. What about any of the lower level agents who's skill may have gone under the radar?" he asked, still so calm that you could think that he was an ordinary person, discussing something trivial like the weather with friends over coffee.

"We train the agents personally. We'd know if they were holding back." Ame said, getting a little annoyed at L's questions, which both Kumo and Tsuki noticed.

Even though she was quite annoyed with the idea itself even being thought of, it was true that if Hoshi's killer could take him down within a few minutes, there was a good chance that they were trained in the same styles of combat that they were trained in, which was mostly developed by Taiyou himself, and improved or revised by Tsuki.

"There would be no way something like that would get past us, and Tsuki trains nearly all of them since she doesn't take that many missions, and nothing ever gets past her." Kumo spoke just as calmly as L, knowing that there wasn't any point in getting annoyed since L was completely within his right to have those suspicions and ask those questions.

"We should wait for the results of the autopsy and the lab results to come back before we starting making any more theories at this point. Let's just go over what we have for the moment. And I'm planning on interrogating Takumi again tomorrow. I think I've let him sweat for long enough." Tsuki reminded them all of the half-prisoner they had been keeping in one of their holding cells ever since they had checked out the house the other day.

"Alright. For the moment, let's just go through what we have so far and look around in media reports for anything we may be able to go off." Kumo agreed and they set to work straight away.

* * *

8 hours later, Kumo and Ame were both asleep in their seats. Tsuki had been working so hard and concentrating so much that she hadn't noticed until nature calling had distracted her. They had been going through tonnes of different newspapers that had covered the 'Aka Sora' story, as well as watching countless TV news reports and looking up everything they could find on the internet.

Tsuki got up and quickly used the bathroom before grabbing two blankets out of a cupboard in the hotel room and covering both of her comrades with one each. She wasn't tired yet, and she had actually rested briefly the other day when she had gotten home after the Hoshi incident, so it would take her another 24 hours or so to need sleep.

Her sleeping pattern had been altered almost disgustingly because of her messed up schedule when she was training to be an agent, and during her first few years of barely getting a break because of her being the highest ranked agent after such a short time.

Instead of getting maybe 8 hours of sleep a day, she wouldn't need sleep for at least 4 days and then she would have a day off where she slept for at least 12 hours at once, then she would be set for another 4 days or maybe 5 if she slept for 16 hours. She had basically just made it so that she had one day to catch up on the sleep she didn't get over the past few days.

She had figured out already that L probably slept once in a blue moon, and after seeing him devour almost a whole cake as well as another 3 cups of sugar (coffee) in the last 8 hours, she guessed it was probably the extreme intake of sugar in his system and forced habit that allowed him to do so.

But, she wasn't going to complain. After seeing him work, and after discussing a few things with him whilst the other had been sleeping – no wonder they hadn't put their opinions forward – she had really started to respect him almost as much as she respected her own comrades. He was incredibly analytical, ensuring that every scrap of data and information was taken into consideration. He was perceptive, picking up on her train of thought before she had even finished expressing it, not to mention his deductive abilities which were almost unlike anything she had ever seen before.

And yet, he was such a child. He did not like being wrong, was also incredibly stubborn and seemed to look at things like a game. He never wore socks or shoes, and looked at Tsuki's boots in what seemed like near disgust when she had taken them off after getting over having them on inside. To put it simply, she had definitely been keeping an eye on him, and he seemed to be doing the same to her.

Tsuki was right to think that. He had been keeping an eye on her. It wasn't that he distrusted her, it was just out of plain interest. She had always seemed incredibly intelligent and very articulate and he was glad to see that it was even more true when in person.

Her knowledge of deception had actually allowed him to be caught out when he had said that there was only about a 2% chance that he thought it could be one of their own lower level agents who was in the Aka Sora. She spotted his lie rather easily, and he had eventually said that he thought that there was almost a 25-30% chance of that being possible.

So, Tsuki was actually able to challenge him, which was certainly interesting for him. Together, they had been through the letters as well as almost all the news articles, videos and everything else they had found. Blue eyes had stared at the screen showing a TV news report, whilst dark eyes had occasionally flickered over to look at the woman sitting next to the owner of said dark eyes, who kept picturing her without the cloth mask.

The woman's face being revealed had shocked them all (except Taiyou). L was still a young man, and he certainly did notice how she looked. She had a pale, almost flawless complexion, small, but full pink lips, high cheekbones, and a finely shaped nose.

In combination with the long black hair that framed her face, and the piercing blue eyes framed with black eye-liner, Ame couldn't have been more right in saying that she was really, really beautiful. She looked very elegant, but also very young at the same time. She had also taken her jacket off a while ago, and he had noticed that she was very much in shape, which could only be expected.

He did also see what looked like a very large scar on her left shoulder, that she absently massaged occasionally when she seemed to get a bit stressed. Curiosity was going to get the better of him soon, but for the moment he had decided to leave it be, especially since she seemed to be getting angrier by the minute.

One thing that surprised him, was how easy she was to read in person. When she got angry, her hands twitched, and she massaged her left shoulder when she got stressed. Thanks to his observation, he had figured that all out in the short time he had actually been in the same room as her.

L was definitely becoming more and more intrigued with this woman, and he couldn't tell whether it was a good or bad thing just yet. She was very mysterious, and even though she was surprisingly easy to read, he could never quite tell what she was thinking.

At this point, the only thing that was certain, was that things were going to get _much_ more interesting...


	6. The Past (Part I)

**Chapter 6 – The Past (Part I)**

It had been a month since the Aka Sora had made a move. Tsuki was laying down on the couch, with a blanket over her lower half, and her pet, a 4 year old male green tree python appropriately named Hisuiro curled up half in front of her with his head resting on her shoulder.

She had been going through hours and hours of news footage, looking for any sign of the slightest movement by the Aka Sora. So far, she had found nothing and her patience, which was already nearly non-existent, was running very thin.

L had disappeared from the seat next to hers quite a while ago, giving her time to quickly go home and pick her snake – who had been alone for a couple of days -, and she was alerted by his presence coming back into the room by the customary scuffing sound of his footsteps, heavy breath and also a fresh, clean smell, signalling he'd just showered.

"Found anything?" he asked casually, but stopped dead in his tracks after seeing a strange, bright green... _thing_ on Tsuki's shoulder. He noticed the green thing travel down her slim, toned body, not thinking about where his eyes were wondering too, and curled up in a spiral underneath the blanket. He swiftly deduced that it was a snake the moment that it's head rose to get a better look at him.

"Easy, Hisuiro...he's alright." Tsuki cooed with a shocking amount of affection to the python and lifted a hand up to gently stroke the top of it's head to calm it. Hisuiro seemed to check him out for another moment and deem him okay since his mistress said so before resting on Tsuki's shoulder again.

"No, I haven't found anything. They haven't made a move in a whole month." she said with a mostly blank tone, only a small hint of anger escaping her. At the moment, for lack of anything else to do, she had sent Ame and Kumo home to get some rest since Ame still wasn't entirely used to the erratic and unpredictable schedules and Kumo had barely slept at all.

Over the last month, they had stopped security breaches and information leaks by having Kumo and the rest of his team staying up around the clock in shifts, making sure no one hacked into their system and they had only made any files about the Aka Sora case on Kumo and L's computers.

There was nothing they could do until the Aka Sora made a move, and Tsuki hated that. She hated that they were able to have some level of control over their investigation. They had gotten nothing, gotten nowhere, in a whole god damn month.

Hoshi's autopsy hadn't told them anything either. The same murder weapon had been used as the one that killed Superintendent Kotone Fuyuko, suggesting that it may have been the same person that killed them both. Tsuki knew that most of the time amongst specialists, that it wasn't uncommon for them to have customised weapons made. But there was also the thought that the Aka Sora wanted them to believe that.

Everything was all up in the air. They couldn't make any conclusions at all. Also, Takumi had been placed under arrest and was currently in the nearest prison, since he was only a decoy, of sorts. He didn't know anything and he couldn't lead them to anything with the limited role he played, and Tsuki had made damn sure of that fact before letting him leave their headquarters, let alone her sight.

At the moment, he was only being held at Taiyou's request, but Tsuki had gotten the idea to release him, and have him trailed if nothing had come up after a while, and it seemed that time was going to come. She didn't have much choice at this point.

Taiyou had already given her permission to have him released a few days ago, also seeing that they may not have any other chance, she had just hoped that something would pop up so that she didn't have to resort to using that trump card.

She had also briefly discussed the idea with L, as well as Ame and Kumo, but now that she was actually going to go through with it, she may as well ask his opinion since the other two had completely supported her, trusting in her judgement and ability.

"Ryuzaki, do you recall how I told you about my idea to release Takumi and have him trailed?" she inquired, as the TV continued to make nothing more than white noise to them in the background.

"I do. And I believe we may be thinking along the same lines. Please tell Taiyou to have him released." he replied, and gave her the answer she was looking for.

"It seems we no longer have a choice in the matter. We have been waiting for much too long for a lead and patience has worn very thin. I'll inform Taiyou tomorrow morning first thing, and I'll get Ame to trail him...Hopefully, the Aka Sora will contact him and we'll start getting some results." she said professionally with an air of confidence that she didn't really feel and turned her head to look at the time on the clock sitting on the small table next to the couch. No wonder she was feeling tired. It was nearly 1AM and she hadn't had a wink of sleep in 5 days.

"I'm going to go rest now. I'll be up at 7AM." she informed for the sake of it, and carefully got up, making sure that Hisuiro was wrapped around her, so that he wouldn't fall.

"I will wake you if we find anything. And please make sure that your snake is put in it's enclosure before you sleep." he answered with his voice slightly wavering over the thought of the snake roaming around without Tsuki there to calm him.

"Scared of snake...Ryuzaki?" the pale-skinned woman teased, as she walked past his chair, hissing the 's' sound to exaggerate as much as possible.

The smallest shiver went down his spine, and she thoroughly enjoyed seeing him in such a unnerved state, but was too exhausted to continue, as well as being too confused as to why she even started in the first place. It was quite unlike her to act that way towards someone, especially someone she hadn't known for very long.

Instead, she walked into the other room where the en suite was located. She almost chuckled seeing Hisuiro's enclosure in the corner of the room, seeing the mental image of the number one detective in the world's spine shivering over her snake possibly being out and about while she slept.

All he would do is find the warmest, darkest place and stay there, which would probably be under the bed, or in it. She gently placed him back in his terrarium, even though he seemed more than content to stay with her, shut the glass sliding door and got changed into her simple night dress made out of a beautifully soft material, that was black with light blue pinstripes, and a bit of lace here and there.

Lazily, she got under the covers, laid on her side and eventually fell asleep.

* * *

" _Dear, did you bring the paper work?" the graceful, elegant woman asked the charming man whose arm was wrapped around hers._

" _Yes. It's right here." the man replied holding up a large A4 sized envelope and smiling affectionately at the woman before his eyes trailed to their child. "Hey, Aoi. Come back here please. The nice lady from the bank will give you a pretty stamp if you behave." he continued looking towards a young girl, wearing a blue jacket that was currently wandering away from her mother and father._

" _Yes, Dad." the girl drawled and stood next to her father, who reached down and held her hand with his free one, putting the envelope under his arm. A few minutes later, they were at the front of the line, and one of the staff called them up to her window._

_She smiled politely at them, and almost grinned at the young girl's face, noting how much she looked like a perfect mix of her beautiful mother and handsome father, knowing that she would grow up to be stunning. It didn't take long for them to sort out what they needed to, and as promised, the young girl nicknamed Aoi was given a nice stamp by the woman serving them._

_The girl giggled happily, looking at the green stamp on the back of her hand. Her gaze turned towards a man standing in the line behind her, and she noticed that he looked very angry, but at the same time seemed very scared. He was shaking a bit, and was also incredibly fidgety. Said man looked at her and swiftly turned away from her curious but piercing eyes._

_Her father thanked the woman, and all three of them began to walk away before hearing loud yelling from just next to them._

"Everyone, get on the ground. Now! Keep your hands where I can see them!" _yelled the man that was standing behind them in the line as loud as he could pulled a handgun out from his jacket._

_Suddenly, there was a raucous of screams, whimpers and other assorted sounds of fear and shock. The girl's stomach dropped and adrenalin, the likes of which she had never felt before, went coursing through her veins at 100 miles an hour._

_Things became slightly blurred as her father and mother both dropped to the ground, pulling her down with them and covering their child's body with their own instinctively. She looked around to see the man telling the lady behind the counter to empty the safe and pack the money in a bag, not forgetting to include that if she pulled any funny business, he would kill her._

_The woman was terrified and did exactly as he said, cautiously stalking over to the small safe on the wall behind her and starting to put the money in a large bag. Within a few moments, the safe was completely empty, and the woman came back over to the counter._

_She slowly lifted the bag up onto the counter and from where the young girl was laying on the ground, she could just see the woman move her arm behind the bag so that the robber couldn't see and it seemed like she had done something because a quick look of relief passed behind her eyes before disappearing again, too quickly for the man to notice._

_Unfortunately, she didn't expect to get a bullet in her only a moment after she had put the bag down, and no one else had expected it either. The girl looked to her father, scared out of her mind. She had only just started going to school and already in her short life time, she had seen someone get shot and killed right before her eyes._

" _Why did you kill her! She did exactly as you asked!" her father spoke up, sounding truly horrified._

_The man turned to look at him, with a beyond furious expression, and spared not a second to even have a second thought to shoot him, and then his wife. The girl's eyes couldn't be any wider when she got a small splatter of blood on her forehead, and on the back of her hand, next to the stamp that she had been so happy to get only minutes ago._

_Her ears were ringing, and tears were welling up and stinging her eyes but she was broken out of her trance by the man, who now pointed his gun at her. She stared defiantly straight into his eyes, even though she was more terrified than she could have ever imagined._

_But then out of nowhere a kunai was buried in his chest, undoubtedly piercing his heart and killing him within a few short moments. An unfamiliar man, wearing all black clothes, with weapons attached all over him and a black mask with a white symbol of a sun on it appeared from the darkness._

_He seemed scary at first, but he looked at her with relief that was barely there in his eyes. A moment later, he used his radio to talk to whoever was on the other end._

" _It's done."_

_After that, it was mostly a blur until roughly 15 minutes later when the masked man came up to her as she was given a drink of water by a paramedic. Once he got close enough to her so that he was sure she knew he was there, he spoke._

" _I'm sorry for not getting there in time to save your parents. I'm afraid I was not informed of the situation quick enough. That man was severely addicted to drugs and he had tried to rob the bank to get money to buy them. He is dead now." he said, and even though his deep voice was unwavering and true, he did seem truly sorry._

_She didn't look up at him, even as he sat down next to her in the back seat of the police car. It wasn't that she was trying to ignore him. He had saved her life. But she was just completely in shock and didn't really feel like doing much of anything at the moment._

" _It seems that you don't have any other family to stay with. I'd like to ask you something, and you don't have to answer me now. I'm creating organisation called the Sora Operatives. They will be secret agents of sorts, trained to stop terrible crimes like this from happening. I do not want you to think that I'm using your current state as a chance to recruit you, but you seem like a brave young girl and you would be well suited to the job. Would you like to train and join the Sora Ops, so that maybe you can save another child from going through the same tragedy you have?"_

_At the sound of his question, she lifted her head up a little, in thought, and then completely to look at him and reveal bright icy blue eyes that held fear, but also...conviction. It was true, she had no family to stay with, nor did she have any friends. She had only been going to school for a year and had only turned 6 a few months ago._

_Even though she was still in shock, she knew what had happened to her parents. They had been mercilessly murdered in cold blood by that man. And this man in front of her was offering her the chance to make sure that never happened to anyone else. That no one else would be sitting outside a bank, in the back of a police car, still with the blood of their parents splattered on their jacket._

_It would be a chance for redemption for being powerless to stop that drug-addicted man from killing the nice staff lady and the two people she had loved so much, the only people that she had in this world. It seemed that she had no other choice, or she would be placed in an orphanage or be put up for adoption._

_She did not bother speaking, knowing that she wouldn't be able to make any words without breaking down, but merely focused her eyes on the two holes in his mask that revealed his own and nodded once before looking back down at her feet._

_The man in the mask was glad to see such strong will in such a small child who had seen things that no person should ever have to see in their lifetimes._

" _In the Sora Ops, we have code names and our real names or faces aren't revealed to anyone aside our team, so you must keep this a secret. You may call me Taiyou, as in the sun. And you shall now be known as Tsuki, like the moon. Just make sure that you want this, because once you start training, you will not be able to leave." the man now known as Taiyou stood up and took two steps before turning his head so she could just see the side of his profile._

" _I will contact you soon...Tsuki." he said simply, before walking off into the distance.  
_

* * *

 

" _Tsuki...I'm coming to pick you up from the police station." Taiyou's voice sounded through the phone, unrevealing as usual. She did not reply, as she was just too tired and upset to care at the moment. She had been sitting in the police station since 11.30AM this morning and she'd had enough._

_They had been trying to ask her questions about what happened, but she had refused to answer, not because she was trying to be difficult, or because it was a cry for attention and sympathy. It was a simply case of her not wanting to re-live the days events while she told them to a police officer who would only take notes about what she said, thank her, then leave._

_It wouldn't bring back her parents._

_All off them had been incredibly kind and nice to her, asking her if she wanted a drink or something to eat, even though they knew she would decline, and they had even brought in one of the dogs that they had been training to try and cheer her up a little, yet it had failed miserably. She wasn't interested in dogs at the moment, let alone anything._

_Soon enough, a tall, well-built man dressed in a smart business suit walked through the station and over to her. If she didn't already figure out from his size, build and eye colour, which she had memorised before, that it was Taiyou, she honestly wouldn't have known it was him._

_He looked to be in his early 30's and he smiled politely, but it was more or less just for show. She got up, leaving the warm blanket that one of the police men had given her after she had started tearing her blood stained jacket to pieces, casual as can be, all of half an hour ago._

_She still could smell the blood on her, but got up and followed Taiyou out, ignoring the pitiful and sympathetic stares of the officers. As if they should pity her. She had decided many hours ago when Taiyou had asked her to be a Sora Ops member that she would close off her heart and no longer feel anything._

_Instead, she would concentrate on her training, and let nothing distract her from that purpose. She would become an agent trained and sent out to prevent needless deaths of innocent people, and she would catch those who still got away with their crimes. And she would do it all with flawless, cold, calculating precision._

_This would be her way to atone for not being strong enough or brave enough to save her beloved parents. In silence, they drove back to where she was going to be living for the next little while. Eventually, after an unknown period of time, they arrived out the front of a small, two bedroom house. She got out of the car, and Taiyou opened the boot, getting out the bags of her things he had packed when he had gone to her old house, which would be sold and the money would be given to Tsuki._

_They walked inside after he unlocked the front door, and he showed her to her room, put her things down and left her be. He had every intention to help her get through this if she really needed it, but to be an agent, she would need to become impenetrably strong physically, mentally, emotionally and psychologically._

_He heard her walking around the room and taking things out of her bags and a few minutes later, he heard the shower turn on and off after a while. He made a quick dinner of tonjiru and rice for them both and it was ready by the time she came out of her room, dried and dressed._

_Taiyou gestured for her to sit down at the small table and to eat. She thanked him silently with a small nod and ravenously ate, suddenly realising how hungry she was now that she could smell food. As they ate, Taiyou thought it would be a good enough time to talk about her training while he had her there in front of him._

" _When would you like to start your training? You may take as long as you need to grieve for your loss." he asked, summoning as much softness to his voice as he could, which wasn't much._

_She abruptly looked up at him with bits of rice around her mouth and one on the tip of her nose. Her blue eyes noticed something akin to amusement quickly pass behind his eyes and disappear just as swiftly. When she realised what he had said, her eyes become shockingly cold for a child her age._

" _As soon as possible." she answered with a mature but clipped tone and continued eating._

" _Well, rest for tonight and we shall start tomorrow morning. I have taken off the next three months for the sole purpose of using that time to train you. After that, I will be taking missions again and my hours will be very unpredictable, so you will have to keep up your training yourself. There is a local dojo down the road that you can go to when I'm not here as well. I will make sure that there is always plenty of food in the house and there is a TV you may also use." he took a mouthful of rice and then soup, but watched as Tsuki had stopped eating altogether._

_It seemed that the gravity of the situation was finally setting in, the shock finally wearing off._

_Then, as if she was casually taking a sip of water, she slid her arm along the table and sent her bowls and glass flying across the room to smash on the hardwood floor. Taiyou had not been expecting that kind of outburst, but showed no outward signs of surprise aside a fractional twitch of his eyebrow. There wasn't much left of the food, but he would still have a decent cleaning job to do before he got some sleep._

_He resisted the urge to sigh, or tell her off and make her clean it up herself and just continued to eat in silence, even as she sat still in her chair, shaking slightly and sulked. For the moment, she would allow herself this._

_This would be her life now. Rice and soup, sleep, train, rice and soup, sleep, train. There was no going back now, and even as she went back to her room and got into bed, she knew that the life she had taken for granted, the one where she would grow up with her parents beside her, go to school, get a job, move out, find a husband and maybe have children, was long gone._

_Only six years old, and she had seen horrors most 70 year olds had never seen. 3 innocent people killed before her eyes, the latter two her own parents, and the fourth was the man who committed said crimes. She couldn't be more glad that Taiyou had killed him on the spot._

_In fact, she wouldn't have even cared if she was killed as well, as long as he died for his atrocities. But, she didn't die. Her life was saved and she had been given another chance at life. A chance to redeem herself. A chance to save lives. A chance to atone._

_She would become strong, and formidable, so that she could save those who couldn't defend themselves and take down those that could and used their strength for the wrong purposes and goals. She didn't know how long that would take, but she would make damn sure that it happens as quickly as possible, so she could start working right away._

_Completely exhausted from the day, her thoughts began to slow down, as well as her breathing, heart-rate and all her other bodily functions, in preparation for sleep. Soon enough, her eyes shut and she eventually fell asleep, her sorrow continuing to linger, even in her dreams._

_Even though she was still so young, in her heart, she was already old._

* * *

Tsuki's instincts woke her the moment someone opened the door to the bedroom. She did not feel or sense any danger yet, but there was no such thing as being off guard in her books. Also, no one she knew was stupid enough to sneak into her room while she was sleeping, unless they wanted a kunai between the eyes.

So she laid there, pretending to still be asleep until whoever was trying to wake her up came closer. Her sense of smell picked up on sugar, lots of it, and coffee, which meant it could only be one person. _L_.

As soon as she felt his body heat radiating near enough to her, he stuck his arm out as if was going to shake her gently, but said arm was grabbed harshly and he was flipped over onto his back on the bed with Tsuki on top of him, holding a kunai at his neck within a split second.

His dark eyes were wide with imminent shock, until _another_ sense kicked in. Something that was very rare, nigh unheard of, with this man, young and filled with sugar he may be. His eyes stayed wide, if not got wider, when he realised that even though Tsuki was holding a kunai at his throat, and could have killed him before he would have even figured out what had happened, she was also sat what could be considered quite intimately on his crotch.

Luckily enough, his body did not react because he was sure that if it did, she wouldn't have spared a second thought to jam the kunai into his jugular, then leave him there to bleed. She noticed the confusion in his eyes and narrowed her own blue orbs before getting off him, and putting the weapon back into her leg holster, which she had removed and placed under her pillow before she slept, like always.

She got off the bed, noticing the time on the clock sitting on the bedside table, guessing that he actually had come in here to wake her up. It would probably be a good idea to warn him against waking her up like that again though. He was just lucky that she was already half-awake and hadn't just decided to aim a few shuriken at the doorway the moment she heard it open.

"Don't do that... Sneaking up on me, especially while I'm sleeping is one of the most stupid things you can do. Same with Ame or Kumo." she informed tonelessly and swiftly pulled her cloth mask over her head, covering the bottom half of her face, not wanting to have it revealed for any longer.

The dark haired man managed to pull himself together after a moment and sit up, but the sensation of cold, sharp metal to his neck, and a warm body on his was still lingering, as well as the image of Tsuki, with her long black hair hanging over her pale shoulders, and shockingly icy blue eyes staring into his own, was burnt into his memory.

"Also, you are very loud. You wouldn't even have a chance of sneaking up on a rookie Sora Ops agent." she continued to speak as she grabbed some clothes out of a small overnight bag she had brought along when they had last changed hotels.

Slipping into the bathroom to get changed, she heard Ryuzaki's reply from the other side of the door.

"I'm not exactly trained in stealth, as you are. But I'm sure I could defend myself, despite my appearance." he said casually, with almost a whimsical tone.

Within 30 seconds she was dressed, and she opened the door and walked out to see him inspecting her leg holster. She snatched it off him, and put one foot up on the bed so she could fasten it to her leg, which he watched with idle interest and certainly not getting past her observant eyes.

She lifted her leg back down and walked over to the enclosure in the corner of the room, checking to see how her python was doing. He was sitting curled up on his favourite tree branch as per usual but lifted his head up when he noticed her there. The reptile absolutely adored her, and to think, that when she first got him as a baby, he tried snapping her whenever he got the chance.

An almost tiny smile came across her face, and she mentally shook it off before standing back up to her full-height and walking towards the door, only stopping to turn and look at L, who was still sitting on the corner of the bed, looking a little unnerved.

"Coming?" she asked blankly, not revealing her curiosity as to why he was unnerved.

"Ah..yes." he snapped out of it to answer her and stroll over to cut her off and walk out the door just when she was about to do the same.

Tsuki simply rolled her eyes in her mind, knowing that his almost non-existent social skills were not kicking in, and followed him out the bedroom door, to whatever monotonous work would be waiting for them today.


	7. The Countdown

**Chapter 7 – The Countdown**

 

"Tsuki. We have something. Please come to the hotel and have a look." L's voice sounded over the phone, and even though her heart rate was already racing from working out and keeping up with her training, it still managed to skip a beat and get faster and she ran around the room after hanging up the phone and grabbed everything she would need.

She quickly locked her house up and ran to the car in the rain, got in the driver's side, and stuffed all the clothes and whatever else she had in the bag that was innocently sitting on the passenger's side seat and had been since she got home four hours ago.

It took her less than half an hour to get there, and she was speeding most of the way as well. How annoying that they had to get something just after she had left to do some seriously overdue training and get some food for Hisuiro which was currently running around in a tiny plastic enclosure with a green lid sitting on the back seat of the car.

As per usual, before she got out the car, she put her hood on and wrapped a scarf around her face to hide as much of it as she could, but not too much as to look suspicious. She slipped into the elevator, glad that no one else was in it and pressed the number 5, then waited until it reached level 5 and stepped out, only to nearly run straight into a staff member who was pushing a room service tray.

Quickly, she apologised very politely and crinkled her eyes as if she was smiling apologetically and continued walking down the hallway until she reached the correct room. Again, as per usual, she did the special knock which changed every time they changed hotels.

Ame opened the door for her, and nodded, but the expression on his face was grim. She expected that she would be told that more people had died and she struggled to compose herself and keep a hold on her temper as she briskly walked into the room and straight over to where L was crouching in his normal position on the lounge.

"Several of the lower level Sora Ops agents have been killed in their homes. Taiyou will be here any moment with the identities of the agents." L explained simply, and seemed to not realise the gravity of the situation.

Whoever the Aka Sora was, they knew who the Sora Ops agents were.

At that moment there was a knock on the door, the special knock, so without a doubt it was Taiyou. Tsuki nearly ran to the door, opened it, and before she even looked at him or acknowledged his presence, she took the briefcase from his hands and slammed it down on the nearest table.

Taiyou just didn't bother stopping her, guessing that Ame or Kumo would have wanted to do the same. He wondered whether she knew the combination, not that it would stop her from getting into the case, but he would prefer her not to break it. Everyone was standing around the table, waiting to see what Taiyou had brought.

The sound of a small click answered his question and the briefcase opened to reveal several files, five in fact. She lifted them out and spread them across the table, then opened them, one by one, looking at the names of the agents who had passed. They were all the lower agents that had potential to be promoted.

"These agents, they were potentials. They'd all been with us for at least a year. I had hoped that one of these people would replace Arashi...and now Hoshi." the woman said quietly, her blue eyes looking at the names and photos of the agents. She was not happy about this.

As per usual, L took close notice of Tsuki. The shadows on the black cloth mask she always wore made it look like she was biting her lip underneath it. He had noticed this several times before, usually when she was stressed or frustrated. Also, he noticed that her voice wavered a little when she mentioned 'Arashi', who he assumed was a former agent. More than likely, what he was about to do next wasn't the right thing to do, but his social retardation prevented him from analysing it too much.

"Who is 'Arashi'?"

The moment the question reached Tsuki's ears, her head snapped towards him and her eyes were narrowed. Taiyou was the next victim of her glare, as she heard him take a breath, as if he was about to speak. He wasn't phased by it, and began to speak.

"Arashi was a former Sora Ops agent. He was the only other agent in the history of the Sora Ops to ever advance to the top ranks within a year. Unfortunately, he was killed roughly 8 months ago, just after Ame had been promoted to his current position." he informed calmly, knowing that Tsuki absolutely hated hearing about it. It had torn her apart nearly as much as her parents death.

"I see. So these agents were soon going to be promoted?" Ryuzaki asked, also looking at the five files laying out on the table.

"Yeah. I was training two of them. Hoshi was training the other three." Ame responded first, since no one else had decided to speak.

"Alright. At this point , we don't have a choice but to place every Sora Ops agent in protection as well as mostly any one in the police force that we have worked with." Tsuki finally spoke, the wavering in her voice completely gone, and nothing but the normal, unrevealing tone was left.

"I agree, but the Sora Ops agents won't take to that too well. And going through all our old case files to find who we've worked with directly in the past would take hours." Taiyou concurred, also realising that this was getting incredibly serious and the death toll was already too high. 31 people had been killed at once in the explosion at the police station as well as all the others. And now, it was confirmed that Hoshi being killed wasn't just because he was at the crime scene.

They were now being targeted directly.

"Actually...I believe I can help with that." Kumo said, with a slight hint of knowing and slyness in his tone.

L was about to speak, and say exactly what he just realised Kumo could do, but he was beaten to the punch by the only woman in the room, who seemed to be getting smarter by the day.

"You could make some sort of database that checks everything about the victims, as well as everyone else in the police force. It would be much quicker, and we'd be able to compare and contrast all the information much easier than going through everything manually." Tsuki said, walking over to the computer with Kumo and pulled up a seat next, that just so happened to be the seat that L sat in.

She had one knee pulled to her chest, while her other leg dangled off the chair and she assisted Kumo in making the database. Why they hadn't they thought of doing this earlier?

Within two hours of hard work, many changes and frustration, they had completed the database and Kumo was just finishing putting all the files into the database itself. When he was finished, he pressed 'Enter' and it was done.

"It's going to take a while to process all the information, since we haven't overlooked even the smallest thing, but when it's done in a few hours, we'll be able to look at all the things the victims have in common to try and find a pattern, and also maybe see if we can predict the next people to be targeted." Kumo said, very pleased with his work. It had been a while since he had made up something so complex.

"For the mean time, let's check out the crime scenes. I assume they haven't been touched yet since we haven't inspected them?" Tsuki asked, directing the question and Taiyou, who nodded once and spoke.

"The only people who have been there is our forensics. They'll be able to direct you to anything that we need to pay attention to when you get there." he answered and looked between her and Ame. "Move out."

They quickly armed themselves, and changed into their proper clothes, instead of the casual ones that they had been wearing around the various hotels. As per usual, they managed to sneak out of the hotel unnoticed, all credit to their hard-earned skill, and made their way to the first crime scene.

All of the victims had been killed in their homes, and had the same characteristics as the other murders. The murder weapon was the same, and 'A.S' had been painted on the body in red again. So far, there hadn't been any notes found at the scenes, so it was time that they got back into it and cracked down to find these bastards.

When they arrived at the first crime scene, there was already a car out the front and the lights were on in the house. The car belonged to one of the forensic agents, and Tsuki guessed that Taiyou had posted one at each crime scene since they had five.

She knocked on the door, and a few moments later, a male of about 30 years with messy, short brown hair named Haruto opened the door. He welcomed them both and let them in, warning them about being careful as he still had a few things to look at in the house. They walked in cautiously, and over to the body which was slumped against a wall in the kitchen.

This first agent was one of the ones that Hoshi had been training, and he had become Hoshi's apprentice in the area he had specialised in, breaking in to the most difficult places possible and not leaving a trace of evidence.

Tsuki remembered when he was first accepted into the Sora Ops and that he had been one of the most dedicated and serious men she had seen in the ranks. She had already expected that he would do well, and it was absolutely terrible that such a promising agent had been killed by those down right fucking ass-holes in the Aka Sora.

While the forensic agent finished off his collection of samples, which he would be analysing at the lab when he arrived back there, both Tsuki and Ame did their own personal investigation of the crime scene, looking around for anything that could even in the slightest chance help them with the case.

Haruto called them over, now ready to show them what he had found. They all regrouped in the kitchen, around the body and Haruto switched off the lights and got out his Luminol, which makes blood easier to see because of the blue glow it gives off.

The spray showed up the tiny splatters of blood, as well as other things that didn't seem to be of any interest to Haruto, so Tsuki assumed it was nothing since he was undoubtedly one of the best forensic scientists she had ever worked with.

For the next few minutes, Haruto walked them through everything that he had found and Ame was taking photographs of the evidence to take back to the hotel and show everyone. They didn't feel much need to be using their headsets so they just made sure that they brought their mobile phones in case one group needed to contact the other.

They would have to wait for the pathologist to examine the bodies before they could know the time of death, so instead of waiting around for the pathologist to get there like they usually would if there was only one scene to investigate, they went to the next crime scene.

In the Sora Ops, they went to impressive lengths to try and keep their agents well looked after, and unfortunately, this was one of those times where all the time and effort they had gone to went to waste.

All five agents that had been killed had lived very near each other, and every agent had a tracking device surgically implanted inside them as well as a small device that sent a distress signal to the closest agent when the button on it was pressed. It seemed that all five agents would have had to been attacked at the same time, since it was impossible that if one of them wasn't being ambushed, they could have easily gone to one of the other agents houses and helped out so that maybe they could have lived.

But that wasn't the case. They had all been killed.

Instead of dwelling on it, Tsuki and Ame pulled up at the next crime scene, and the forensic agent had already finished their examination of the crime scene. She showed them the small blood splatters and everything else they needed to know, as well as told them about every sample she had taken that would be analysed later on.

The next three crime scenes were exactly the same and after they had taken every photo and gotten all the information that they could for the time being, they headed back to the hotel. When they got up to the room, they briefed everyone on what they had found out, and showed them the photos that they had gotten from the crime scenes, showing the body, blood splatters, and anything else of relevance.

Hopefully the lab would be finished with the results of the samples from the scenes soon, so that they could input the new data into the database and maybe, just maybe, they might be able to get somewhere with this case.

* * *

It had been five days since they had heard about the death of the five promising Sora Ops agents who had been murdered in their homes. They had input the data in the database after the lab had finished with the various different samples of what had been found at the crime scenes and had only come to the conclusion that it was the same murder weapon being used, the blood splatters were only of the victims, not the attackers, and there had been no footprints or fingerprints, no hair strands, no clothing threads.

Nothing.

_Absolutely. Nothing._

Tsuki was on her last nerve. They had analysed the distress signals from the devices and had been checking the tracking devices on every agent ever since the five agents had been killed. Kumo had also changed the devices so that it would notify all the Sora Ops agents, even the non-field agents if the button had been pressed.

So far, they hadn't received any distress signals which was a good sign, and they just hoped that they wouldn't receive any since they had moved all the agents to different locations that were supposed to be completely secure.

They had gone so far as to not even record on file where they were moved to, instead just following them on the tracking map that Kumo had made several years ago upon his promotion to 'Kumo'. Without him, the technological side of the Sora Ops would be nothing, let alone exist and work as well as it does.

On another note, as much as L didn't want to admit it, he was stumped. It was almost impossible to get closer to solving the case when there was no evidence, no leads and nothing to go off whatsoever. Not even an educated guess or estimation.

Suddenly, the sound of a mobile phone ringing started, standing out shockingly in the silence of the room. Tsuki felt the vibrations from the phone on her leg, and pulled it out of her pocket, and answered it. L, Ame and Kumo noticed the widening of her eyes, before her head turned towards the computer Kumo was sitting in front of.

Then, as if on queue, four different distress signals sounded, and alerted them all that another attack was occurring right this second. Throwing caution to the wind, Tsuki grabbed her pack with one of the other cameras and sprinted out of the room, and all the way down to her car. Ame immediately followed, and they both left L and Kumo behind to hope that they got there in time.

Kumo immediately knew what Tsuki wanted him to do, and he swiftly dialled her phone number off his own mobile phones and waited for her to answer. As soon as she did, he could already hear the loud revving of the car's engine and he quickly recited the closest address a few times before hanging up and reciting the next closest to Ame.

It was times like this that he wished that he didn't have to watch the computer and be the field agents connection to finding out anything they needed while they worked, so that he could go out in the field and maybe save a life, especially the life of a comrade. He was fully trained for field work and could fight just as well as Ame, despite his appearance. Maybe it might be an idea for him to teach L to do his job so he could go out in the field.

The minutes went by slowly, and tensions were running high until they finally got a call from Tsuki, but she only had bad news for them.

"I was too late. He died of blood loss just after I got there. There's no one in the surrounding area either. Let the forensics and the pathologist know. The way this case is going, we should hire a few more of each." she said pessimistically, feeling helpless at this point in time.

Her motivation for knowing that she could find the Aka Sora and stop them was failing, and fast. This case had started out like so many others. Someone or some people would kill some other people, and they would eventually slip up and be found. But the Aka Sora hadn't slipped up _once._

Kumo told her the address of where the next distress signal had come from and as soon as he hung up, he got a call from Ame saying the exact same thing as Tsuki had. He gave Ame the last address so that Tsuki could finally give herself a break and come back to the hotel while Ame checked out the last one.

He had noticed that she had been so stressed out lately, that she had forgotten to feed her snake or even acknowledge it's presence. Basically, she was driving herself insane, and he just had to try and get her to slow down for a few minutes so she didn't completely lose her mind.

An hour later, she arrived back, kind of annoyed that Kumo had told Ame the last address and refused to tell her. However, when she walked back into the hotel room, she saw that he had brought out the rat that she had planned on feeding to her snake several days ago but never got around to it.

L watched the exchange between them idly, and again noticed that the shadows on Tsuki's cloth mask seemed to give away what her mouth was doing. A hint of a reluctant smile seemed to be the current involuntary choice and she thanked Kumo with her gaze before giving him the camera and picking up the small plastic cage the rat was in and strolling into the bedroom where Hisuiro was.

She got him out, and L just saw from his usual seat in the big room that she had lifted her cloth mask down to reveal her face and the snake's nose and her own were touching and he actually saw a genuine smile flash upon her face and disappear just as quickly. He knew that sooner or later, she would end up knowing that he was looking at her and catching him, but he didn't really want to look away at the moment.

He couldn't really understand why, but she didn't seem to be very stressed out while she was bonding with the green reptile. It was almost as if she didn't want to allow herself to think of anything negative whilst being with her beloved pet. Her time spent with Hisuiro was time where she could forget all other things, and all her problems.

Seeing the sudden change in her, he found himself almost wanting to smile. That in itself was nearly as insane and unorthodox as the idea of Tsuki, the usually cold, calculating and emotionless agent, _smiling_ as if she was _happy_.

L was broken out of his reverie by who he guessed was Ame knocking at the door. Kumo got up and opened it to reveal the black-haired man, and he quickly glanced back to Tsuki, who had pulled her mask up, replaced her blank facial expression and was putting her snake back in his enclosure.

Before things got even more weird, he looked back towards his own computer screen, and continued looking at the database that Kumo had copied to his computer. Tsuki came back out a few minutes later, the small plastic cage no longer containing the rat, and he resisted the urge to shudder at the thought of what was happening to it right now.

Ame walked over to the computer desk and handed him the camera he was using so he could upload photos from the other crime scenes. Kumo thanked him, and the photos were copied to the computer in minutes.

They all looked at them, Tsuki analysing Ame's shots, Ame analysing Tsuki's, Kumo and L analysing both. There wasn't much they could do until the forensics checked for trace evidence, biological evidence, footprints etcetera and they got their full report, as well as the pathologists report on the cause and time of death, and any other relevant information.

Yet again, it was just a matter of time.

* * *

They had just received the results from the pathologist and from the lab and Kumo was currently inputting the data in the system. Because they couldn't risk any sort of information leaks, they had made sure that the results were not recorded on any computer aside from Kumo and L's personal ones and that the data was hand-written by whoever did the appropriate research.

When Kumo was finished, they waited a while until it was finishing processing, and unfortunately, they found nothing again. It could only be assumed now, that the Aka Sora had been cleaning up the scene thoroughly after they committed each murder.

Aside that, they were all only just starting to realise what they were up against. It was an organisation to rival the Sora Ops. They were organised, smart, quick, strong, and they knew the way things worked in the police force, and the Sora Ops.

It was highly likely that the people involved with the Aka Sora had some sort of experience with or in the police or some other justice enforcement agency.

Everything was just becoming too much. Everyone's stress and anger levels were at maximum, motivation was low, and fatigue was so strong that all of them were struggling to stay awake, even L was having problems.

Just as if things couldn't get any worse, Kumo said that they had nothing out of the blue, and pulling everyone a little further down into depression. They just all felt hopeless. They couldn't save their comrades and it may end up that they couldn't even save themselves.

The Sora Ops, had met their match.

* * *

_3 Days After The Last Murders_

Everyone was sprawled out on a lounge, or seat, or even on the floor. L had given up his usual crouching position to actually sit down, and he was currently drinking a cup of overly sugared coffee. Tsuki didn't even feel like coffee was worth her time of day at the moment, and she could only imagine that Ame and Kumo felt the same.

Taiyou hadn't been around too much, even though they gave him daily reports, just because he was working so hard to find secure locations for all the agents. He'd also decided to hide their scientists as well, since they were also trained to defend themselves very well and could be considered a threat to the Aka Sora because of their scientific intelligence and strength and even more so because there wasn't really anyone else left.

No sooner after Kumo had sighed loudly in hopelessness, three distress signals started and immediately Tsuki, Ame and Kumo got up and ran out of the hotel and downstairs. Kumo had gotten his wish to help out in the field while L was their connection to technology. And Watari was always there to look after L if they weren't.

3 separate cars sped off into the night and one by one the world's number one detective swiftly contacted them all, giving them an address each and was left to hope that they got there in time, or at least one of them did.

Again, unfortunately, they didn't make it in time. Even more so because this location was further away than the last ones, and no matter how much they sped, or how good a driver they were, they didn't have much of a chance to get there in time to save the life of an agent, and maybe bring someone to justice and finally get a lead on these bastards.

This happened again two days later, and it was time they figured out why the number of victims was decreasing and the days between it was as well, and also how the Aka Sora kept finding them. They had also figured out that 31 people died at the police station then exactly a month later, they had more deaths.

"Well, we had 31 people die in the police station explosion. Then a month later, five agents were killed, then four days later, four were killed, three days later, three were killed, and two days later, today, two were killed. Could we assume that in one days time, one person will be killed?" Kumo went over what had happened and asked the question that no one really wanted to know the answer to.

"I don't know why they would change the pattern now, but the thing I'm worried about, is who is the one person they will kill? Surely it won't be a cannon fodder rookie. I reckon that now they'll start trying to fry bigger fish." Ame answered wisely. He certainly was learning quickly in this case.

"Basically, there isn't really many of us left now. There are seven agents working overseas and our team of 10 scientists. The only way to go is up. I think that they're going to come after Taiyou...or me." Tsuki said, her voice unusually emotionless, compared to lately where she sounded tired and sick of everything.

"Taiyou is the top of the top, but he does work with a lot of other agencies as well, where as you are Sora Ops, through and through. And to be honest, you've got more leeway with us than Taiyou does. If I was Aka Sora, I would go for you. You've been doing this since you were a kid and your the real power in the Sora Ops." Ame answered, not really wanting to be so rational about this since it might mean that their enemy was thinking the same way, but knowing that he had to say what he thought.

"Kumo." L said suddenly, after he stopped biting his thumb and looked up at the man he was speaking to. "Please tell me how do the tracking devices work exactly?"

"Um, well, my computer sends out a frequency which tracks down the devices which have a matching frequency. Kind of like a walkie-talkie, you have to be on the same frequency to talk." he explained, wondering why L was bringing this up all of a sudden.

"Would it be possible for an external source to replicate the frequency and be able to track down the devices from their own computer?" the dark, messy-haired man asked, feeling like his revelation would be correct.

"Yeah, but it would be almost impossible to do so...unless, they used the tracking devices frequency to reverse the effect! That's it, that's how they've been finding us! Except that is also nearly impossible to do, unless your me." Kumo exclaimed and just hoped he was wrong, but he had a feeling that he wasn't.

"So, in other words, we have to switch off all tracking devices, which also means sacrificing the easiest way to track our agents down. But if we deactivate them, theoretically, they won't be able to find us, correct?" Tsuki spoke up, after taking in all this information.

"That's correct. From their end, it's impossible to activate them since I made them to completely stop working entirely if they were deactivated. I'll get on it immediately."

"Now, we've got that sorted out, let me ask you all one very important question. Should count one day as the very next day? Or will it be tomorrow?" Tsuki contemplated, wondering if the Aka Sora would wait for a whole twenty four hours after their previous attack, or whether they would count that twenty four hours would be that day.

"I hate to admit it, but I just noticed that it has been a whole twenty four hours since their last attack." Ame said quietly, and with a lot of concealed worry.

Simultaneously, they all looked at the nearest clock. It was true. They hadn't realised it, but it was a whole twenty four hours since the last attack. If their deductions were right and it was Tsuki they were coming for, would it be now, or in another twenty four hours?.

Abruptly, all the power went out in the building, and fire alarms began to go off, deafening them slightly.

Their question was answered.


	8. The Confrontation

**Chapter 8 – The Confrontation**

 

* * *

 

_Abruptly, all the power went out in the building, and fire alarms began to go off, deafening them slightly._

_Their question was answered._

Immediately, Kumo, Ame and Tsuki shot off to arm themselves with everything they had. Kumo also chucked his laptop in his bag, as well as L's and they were ready to go within seconds.

This was a matter of life and death, in every way shape and form. They had more at stake than just their own lives here. They couldn't stick together and help each other out, because if they all got caught, and couldn't defend themselves, it wouldn't be too hard for the Aka Sora to kill them, and L.

Without even speaking, they had made the decision to split up, and that Tsuki would accompany and protect L. Luckily, Watari had gone out, so he wasn't in danger, and Taiyou was either getting some rest, or being stubborn and continuing to work.

Quickly, Tsuki ran into the bedroom and grabbed a pillow, and removed the case from it in one swift movement. She called L over to her while she opened Hisuiro's enclosure and grabbed him, then proceeded to shove him in the pillow case, again in one swift movement, but still being careful not to hurt him. He may be as tame as the proverbial family dog, but if hurt, he had every right to defend himself.

"You have to look after him. If he gets dropped or left behind, I'll leave _you_ behind." Tsuki said seriously, with venom dripping in her tone, which was very flustered and worried. She stuffed the pillowcase with the python inside in her small back pack that she emptied out on the floor, and pushed it into his arms.

Ame and Kumo had already left, and neither Tsuki or L had any idea where they had gone. Since it was around 2.30AM, it was pitch black, and most people were still asleep. The hotel patrons would have been woken by the fire alarm, and were probably making their way down to the lobby through the fire exits.

It would be easier for them to blend into the crowd, but it was clear enough from the past few murders that the Aka Sora would undoubtedly know what they look like, and they didn't have time to disguise themselves and then go. They had to get out of the hotel, and as far away as possible. Now.

"L. We're going to wait a few minutes. I want all the innocent bystanders out of the way. This shit is about to get real and I can't have anyone getting in my way. Which also goes for you. If I say jump, you jump. If I say duck, you duck. I will protect you, but you have to trust me and do exactly as I say. Got it?" she commanded, with all the power and authority that her position in the Sora Ops suggested, and more.

He nodded, even though he was very unsure about all of this, and to be quite honest, absolutely terrified. He'd never been so close to dying before, let alone been so close to inevitable danger. Both their lives were being threatened, as well as Ame and Kumo's, so he would just have to push his fears aside and concentrate.

Silently, the blue-eyed woman walked over to window and looked outside, getting a perfect view of the front of the hotel, and seeing all the guests standing outside in their bed clothes, or dressing gowns, looking very confused and tired.

The power in the whole block was out, which would make it much easier for them to escape under the cover of darkness, but it would also make the chances of ambushes and capture much higher. It gave each side and advantage, and also a disadvantage. The Aka Sora were ahead at the moment, catching them by surprise, but the Sora Ops were all too talented at levelling the playing field to let them keep the upper hand for very long.

She walked back over to L, noticing how much he would stand out in the white shirt and blue jeans. With feline grace, she stepped over to Ame's bag of clothes and grabbed out a shirt and a pair of pants and guessed that they would fit and if they didn't, they'd have to do for the time being

As they both listened out for any sounds, even the slightest breath or footstep, Tsuki gave him the clothes and turned around to at least let him change his pants in moderate privacy whilst detaching one of her leg holsters that held three kunai, and attached it to his leg after he had put the pants on, not giving him any warning, making him feel a little awkward momentarily.

He pulled his white shirt off, and put on the black one, before Tsuki handed him one of her spare cloth masks. She pulled on her Sora Ops mask, the crescent moon symbol standing out in the minimal moonlight that shone into the room.

The young woman turned to him, and took a deep breath in and out, grabbed three kunai from inside her jacket and stalked towards the door. L grabbed one of the kunai from his holster, being careful not to cut himself with it. A blood trail could easily be tracked, even by a child.

Tsuki held up her hand, which he could only just see and one by one put up her fingers in a countdown. On three, she opened the door, making sure to not let it creak. She seemed to go in a trance and listen for a sound and attempt to 'sense' the presence of any other person near by. After a moment, she lifted her head back up and stepped outside the room, preparing herself for a sudden attack.

She waved to him to come to her, letting him know that it was safe and he quickly repositioned the back pack before walking over to her, as quietly as he could, which turns out, was almost silent. Pushing his self-impressed feeling aside, terror started to kick in again, and he began to shake.

A hand sat on his shoulder, and before he could yell out or whatever his body decided to do first, he realised that Tsuki was facing him and it was her hand on his shoulder. She looked at him and tried to telepathically tell him that it would be okay, and her gesture seemed to calm him a little as his muscles relaxed and he exhaled a little deeper.

She pointed to the long hallway behind her, and they both started jogging off in that direction, whilst keeping a close eye and ear out for anyone, and also trying to be completely silent at the same time. On their right, L noticed an open door to a room and pointed to it after getting his temporary bodyguard's attention. She shook her head, knowing that it might be a trap, and they couldn't take the chance of getting stuck in one room.

Her plan was to get out of the hotel by going out the window at the end of the hallway, scale down to the next level via grapple and get through the next window, then make their way to the adjacent side of the hotel and continue the process until they reached ground floor.

It would be too easy for the Aka Sora to cut the grapple rope and let them fall to their deaths or pull them back up and kill them if they found them trying to abseil down the whole building, especially because they were on the fifth storey.

So that was why they had to take their time and swap side of the building, to hopefully cause confusion and avoid any patrols they may be doing. More than likely, they had people watching in opposite buildings, or on the ground itself and were going to use them as assistance to help them find their targets.

Both of them only hoped that Kumo and Ame had already gotten out of harm's way.

They finally reached the end of the hallway, and Tsuki picked the lock on the window without a second thought and opened it. She looked down at her utility belt, simultaneously realising that she only had one grapple, and that L would have just grab onto her each time they scaled down the outside hotel wall.

L also seemed to realise and moved out of her way while she attached the grapple hook to the wall. The window was only just barely big enough for her to stand at her full height and she turned her back to L so he could jump up and grab onto her. It ended up being quieter and more stable than he had anticipated, and carefully, whilst holding tightly onto the rope, she slowly turned around on the window frame so that she was looking inside the hotel and down the hallway.

With a quick check, she saw no one there, and began to descend down the wall, being very, very careful since she was holding a lot more weight than usual. When they reached the next window, she stopped just above it and cautiously levelled out until they were horizontal and peeked her head down far enough to see inside.

She didn't see anyone, so she let the rope out further and carefully opened the window from the outside using the same small piece of metal which she had picked the other window's lock with. L was amazed to see her true prowess and be right there in the action, no matter how scared he was and he had a feeling that thanks to her abilities, they would get out of this alive and in one piece.

Instead of climbing inside with him on her back, she spun around and let him clamber inside, and quickly grabbing his arm, just before he slipped off the small table sitting underneath the window frame, which would undoubtedly give away their location.

When she was also inside the hotel again, she disconnected the grapple from the wall above her with the simple push of a button and reeled it in silently. She stepped down off the small table, shut the window behind them and again tried to 'sense' or hear the presence of their enemy in the vicinity.

So far, so good, and they continued down the nearly endless hallway once Tsuki had deemed it safe to move ahead.

They went to the opposite wall in the hotel without any incident and without being found and chased, and repeated the slow, but important process of picking the window lock, opening the window to it's fullest extent, attaching the grapple, getting L on her back, abseiling down the wall, open the window from the outside, successfully get them both inside then detach the grapple and shut the window behind them.

L was getting a little fatigued from jogging so much, and tensing himself for battle every few minutes, but he kept up with Tsuki as much as he could while being careful about the live reptile that was unfortunately stuffed in the pillowcase in his back pack.

Instead of going to the opposite wall this time, they went to the wall on the left and again repeated the process and finally got through the third storey window a few adrenalin pumping and tension filled minutes later. Tsuki thought she saw someone as they headed down the hallway towards the right wall, this time in the furthest corner away from them. She gestured for L to get down and hide, before she stepped around the wall and realised that someone was definitely there, and they hadn't seemed to notice their presence yet.

She nodded to L, who turned around to fall back even more and he just hoped that she would be okay and that this wouldn't give away their location. He heard a light whiz of something flying through the air very quickly, and was harshly shoved out of the way, then there was three quiet thuds, and when Tsuki walked briskly over to him, he knew that she had successfully taken him out without anyone noticing.

"Are you alright? He's dead." she whispered softly to him, looking him over for torn clothes that would suggest an injury. She saw nothing and looked back towards his face, and straight into his dark eyes. He looked absolutely terrified, but she let him keep his pride, and said nothing.

He nodded and let out the breath he had been holding in quietly and they continued down, and went to the window third from the corner and began abseiling down the wall again. They got inside the second storey window undetected, but as they made their way down the hall, and got close to the open area in the middle, Tsuki and L both knew something wasn't right.

It was more than likely, that up ahead, were several Aka Sora and they had planned to ambush the Sora Ops agents while they made their way down the levels of the hotel. She doubted that without a large force, that they could stop both Kumo and Ame, but she had a feeling that they were both safe.

Now, it was time for her to show the Aka Sora who they were fucking with.

With a deep breath, she pulled out three kunai, putting each of them between her fingers, and had some shuriken ready to go. She knew her gun was at her waist as well, but she'd never use it unless she had to. Stealthily, she crept out into the main area, and was able to pin-point the most likely hiding spots for Aka Sora, as well as places that she could stay in.

To her left she heard a whiz and she bent her back so that her head would get out of the way of the weapon that just glinted slightly in the moonlight that was shining through the window, giving away it's location, and the location of the assassin.

Three shuriken were flung in their direction and she heard tearing of cloth, more than likely meaning that they now had quite a large laceration on them somewhere. She heard two thuds of the other two landing in the wall, and dodged the next kunai that came flying towards her from a 2 o'clock direction, also given away by the moonlight.

Suddenly, the assassins revealed themselves and ran at her. She moved to the centre of the room and began throwing weapons at the four Aka Sora currently coming at her. One of them got hit in the leg, stopping them and putting them to the ground, and she swiftly followed up with a senbon to the spinal cord, killing him instantly.

Two of the others managed to get to her first, and the other a bit slower because of the deep wound on his leg, assumptively caused by the shuriken she had thrown at him. For a minute she fought in close range combat against all three of them, again amazing L who had pulled back enough to be out of the way and out of sight, but still able to see the outcome of the battle, just in case he had to run and find another way out if things didn't go right.

Several times, she was nearly hit by a punch or kick, or cut by a blade, but managed to be agile enough to dodge, block and counter them all and give even more than was being thrown at her. The injured one was picked off quickly, receiving a large kunai slash to his torso, and a cut just deep enough to reach his jugular vein in his neck, causing him to bleed out within moments.

Tsuki was able to take out another one by aiming a perfectly thrown kunai at him, which hit his heart and killed him. After fighting back and forth with the last one for a few minutes, who was clearest the strongest of the four, he just managed to nick her with a kunai on her arm, but not enough for her to even take much notice and block his next punch and kick him backwards into the wall with all her strength, and throw a shuriken which embedded into his neck straight after.

She breathed out and so did L, and she waved him over to her after checking to make sure that there was no one else around, and that the four Aka Sora were truly dead. He was in a state of shock, after seeing her handle four, well-built and well-trained men take her on, and not even seem to be very phased by being able to take them out, or killing them.

He supposed that after dealing with this kind of thing on a daily basis 'since she was a kid' as Ame had mentioned earlier that night, she would be almost completely desensitised and jaded towards both her being able to defeat four men, as well as being forced to kill them.

Without being given any more time to contemplate, they moved on, heading towards the same side of the hotel that they had gone out the first time, but headed towards further towards the left this time. In a few minutes, they touched the ground and began running towards their car which was in the outside car park behind the hotel.

Except they didn't go to the car park. Tsuki led him to a side street a few hundred metres from the hotel and they made their way up the street a little until they reached...a motorbike?

"Back up." Tsuki answered L's mental question quietly before he could ask it out loud and hesitantly hopped on the back, and wrapped his arms around her waist after putting on a helmet she passed to him. She took off her mask and quickly put her own helmet on, and put her mask in her inside jacket pocket.

The bike was one that she'd owned for many years, and fixed up herself when she was younger and she had been using it as a back up vehicle ever since this case had started. And she was definitely glad that she had now. It would much faster and easier to get as far away from here as possible on the motorbike rather than a car.

Luckily, both her and L were small, so that even though the bike only had a 250 cc engine, it would still up and go and get them away asap. Soon enough, they were flying down the street and away from the hotel, which L noticed was actually going up in flames. So the Aka Sora had actually set the hotel on fire, more than likely to hide the evidence of their attempted murder on the Aka Sora member, and himself.

When they came to a stop at a red light, she grabbed her mobile phone out and called Kumo's, then handed it to L, who was slightly reluctant to let her go, even though they'd come to a stop. The light went green and a few moments later, Kumo answered his phone, sounding insanely relieved to know that the both of them were alright.

He had already met up with Ame and they were heading towards the next town over. It would be a bit of a long ride for L, since he was clearly terrified, but it would only take about forty minutes to get to the next town with her in control of the speed.

As she rode, she thought back to what had happened. Tonight, she had to kill five men. Granted, they would have killed her if given the chance, but it never sat well with her. No matter how many people she had killed, which for someone in her line of work, was startlingly small, thanks to her ability to incapacitate someone completely for a short amount of time with her senbon, it never got easier.

Well, in a way it did. But it wasn't _easier_ to kill as such. It was more of a resignation. She knew that she had no other choice sometimes, so it was like the person had made the decision for her. If she had been on her own, and not had to worry about L's safety, as well as her own, she would have captured all five men and interrogated every last one of them until they told her everything she needed to know, and more, then let them rot in jail for the rest of their lives for being involved with such criminal acts.

In fact, she was surprised that there was so few of them. She had almost expected a battalion to be spread out over the hotel, but that didn't seem to matter because the four that she had to fight face to face were very capable and had given her a might bit of trouble.

Whoever was training them, or whatever their background was, their fighting style was so similar to her own, that she had some trouble reading the movements for a moment. But halfway through the fight, she slipped into almost a state of complete muscle memory. She did recognise the fighting style, but just couldn't recall where from.

Tsuki was jolted out of her thoughts by another red light and she stopped comfortably just before the white line. She took the opportunity to see how L was doing. For the whole ride so far, he had his face pressed in the flat plane between her shoulder blades and his arms were still tight around her waist. Now that they had stopped moving, she could feel that he was still shaking.

"Ryuzaki. It's okay. I told you I would protect you, and I did." she spoke over the sound of the idling engine, and turned her head to look over her shoulder enough to see his still scared looking expression through the small space in the helmet.

He didn't speak, but just relaxed his grip a little, and his face became slightly more calm, but still nothing like his usual blank expression.

When they arrived in the next town, she asked him to call Ame and Kumo and ask where they were. A while later, they met up at a small inn, with a bar down the bottom. They decided that a low-key establishment would be best for the moment, and they needed to get something to eat as well as contact Watari, who was probably worried sick and Taiyou, who would probably already know about the incident and was just waiting for them to contact him when it was possible.

They walked in to the inn, even though it was so early in the morning, and the lady behind the reception was a bit confused to see people here so late/early, but also to see such an odd mix. Kumo, who was tall with a slim build, Ame who had black hair, grey-blue eyes and was only a bit taller than Tsuki, who had extremely long, black hair, pulled back into a plait, icy-blue eyes and pale skin. And finally L, who had dark, scruffy hair, with dark eyes, and pale skin that made him look even more gaunt from lack of sleep and proper nourishment.

It certainly would have been a sight to see at this time of the morning. The woman apologised, saying she didn't expect guests so early, and asked them how she could help them. They asked for rooms and what time they could get something to eat.

She told them that they only had two rooms left, one with two single beds and one with a double bed in it and that the chef didn't arrive until 10.30AM. They took both rooms and thanked her when she gave them the keys. Also, they slipped a few more notes than necessary over the counter, for the discretion of them never being there.

They went up to their rooms and immediately Ame threw Tsuki the key to the double bed room and unlocked his own door before flopping down on the bed. A small huff of amusement escaped her, and Kumo shrugged and entered after Ame, making the unspoken decision that her and L would share.

This behaviour was a little odd, coming from Kumo, considering that he would probably never let her share with Ame, since they both knew how much of a crush the guy had on her, let alone any other male. But she figured that since she had been through a lot, he wanted her to have the double bed instead of being cramped in a single, like he would be.

Kumo smiled and shut the door, and she turned around and unlocked their room. She opened the door and stepped aside to make way for L to go through like he usually did, but he didn't this time. A shaped-black eyebrow raised in wonder and she waited for something to happen.

"Ladies first..." the young man offered a little awkwardly, still a bit shaken up, but clearly trying to pull himself together.

She nodded in thanks, one corner of her mouth turned slightly upwards in concealed amusement at his gesture and walked in the room. L followed suit and shut the door behind him, and locked it, but shuddered at the memory of how easily Tsuki picked the hotel window locks from the inside and broke in from the outside, and wondered whether the Aka Sora had that kind of skill, knowing that this lock wouldn't stand a chance against that skill.

Without another word, she dumped her pack on the bed, and took his from him. She unzipped it, and got the green tree python out, and resisted the urge to grin seeing that he was alright, although he seemed very unnerved and a little annoyed.

Silently, she apologised to him and she knew that he would have to stay in the pillowcase tonight, since she didn't exactly have a spare tank for him in her back pocket. She made a mental note to buy one first thing tomorrow, and placed him back into the pillowcase, apologising silently again.

She placed him in the cupboard that was in the room, and inside one of the drawers. Surely it would be dark and warm enough for him, but she'd have to get a tank because those weren't the kind of conditions he was used to.

L was sitting on the only chair in the room, wondering if he could actually sleep or not. More than likely, this was going to be one of the rare times where he could sleep, because he was so shaken up and he still didn't know how to react to all of this yet. He sat their, absorbed in his own thoughts, even as Tsuki had a quick shower to wash the sweat and scent of blood of her.

He only snapped out of it when she came out of the bathroom, dressed in a simple black singlet and a pair of tights that he presumed were in her pack. She threw a pair of boxers to him that belonged to her, but would undoubtedly fit the slim man.

Gently, he picked them off his lap with his pointer finger and thumb and held them up in front of his face, wondering if she actually expected him to sleep in only that while laying in the same bed as a woman. He figured that it might be a bit inappropriate unless they were lovers. A faint embarrassed smile came across his face, just long enough for Tsuki to turn around and see it.

"What are you smiling about?" she asked flatly, wondering what the hell could make him smile after all that had happened tonight.

He composed himself quickly, not really wanting her to know what he was just thinking about. "It's nothing." he said quickly, and a little to casually to pull it off.

She didn't investigate further, since sleep was the only thing on her mind at the moment. Yesterday was scheduled as her sleep day, but obviously enough, she wouldn't have dared sleep with all this going on, and the only reason she was going to now was because she was so tired that she wouldn't be of any use investigating while being so fatigued.

Also, she could tell that L needed sleep as well. It didn't phase her that she would be sharing a bed with him. She had shared a bed with a male before. Kumo and her had been on a couple of missions were they had to be undercover and pretend to be lovers so they could keep an eye on someone. She had only had a lover once before, but these circumstances were vastly different.

Without thinking more about it, she crawled under the covers and got a small shiver down her spine when the cold sheets came into contact with her bare skin. Soon enough, they warmed up from her body heat and she resisted the urge to sigh and stretch out like a contented cat.

L got up from his seat a moment later, and walked into the bathroom. He had a quick shower, also to remove the scent of sweat and blood, and even though he still felt a little uncomfortable about the boxers issue, he pushed it aside knowing that sleep was probably a necessity at the moment and a good rest would do everyone a world of good.

The young man strolled out of the bathroom and over to the opposite side of the bed. It certainly did look comfortable and warm, and after he got in and laid down, he looked over to Tsuki, who already had her eyes closed and a barely there smile of comfort on her face. A small pleased smile came across his own face, glad to see that she was okay.

As they both drifted off to sleep, he murmured a few words which she barely heard.

" _Thank you...Tsuki."_


	9. The Past (Part 2)

**Chapter 9 – The Past (Part II)**

" _Again!" Taiyou yelled and ran at her for what must have been the millionth time that day._

_She tried as hard as she could to predict his movements, but failed and ended up getting kicked hard in the side after trying to dodge a punch and leaving herself open, and flung across the room, landing with a loud thud on the hardwood floor._

" _Get up. We are going to continue doing this until you can perform the combination correctly. Remember, dodge, block, dodge, counter." the older man repeated and showed her the correct movements yet again._

_It wasn't that she couldn't do it. She just couldn't do it against him. Mostly it was because he was much faster, bigger, heavier and a lot more stronger than her, even though that was only natural since she was only 6 years old and he was a grown man. But all credit to her, she could probably beat up 20 6 year olds in a matter of moments. She was progressing surprisingly quickly, but her physical strength wouldn't begin to appear properly for at least another ten years, so by that time she would be a hand-to-hand combat master and would be able to use that strength very well._

_Still, it was surprising how mature she had become in the last month. Since that first outburst where she had pushed her bowls and glass onto the floor and smashed them at the dinner table when she had first arrived at Taiyou's house, there had been no more that he had seen._

_In fact, she had barely acted like the same person any more. Taiyou had noticed that she used to watch the younger children's cartoons that most 6 year olds would enjoy when she first bothered to actually watch TV, and now, after a little over a month, she was watching the news and documentaries instead, as well as reading newspapers, and books not meant for her age, but for adults._

_She barely even changed her expression any more, much like himself. He wasn't sure whether she decided to not display her emotions because he didn't and he was a Sora Ops agent, but it was more than likely that she knew that expressions and body language could tell the truth when the person themselves could not, or would not. And it was also probably because she didn't want to let herself feel anything at all any more._

_Her intellect level had absolutely soared as well. When they were having a break from combat training, he would occasionally come up with various scenarios of missions that she might have to do, and he even threw in a few that he had done himself, and asked her how she would successfully complete the mission, and almost always, she would be dead-on, down to the last detail._

_He had also decided to put her back into a regular school when he started taking missions again, because he wouldn't be around as much to have the time to home-school her, not that he did much of that anyway. Not that she needed it either._

_In another two weeks, he would begin to teach her about using weaponry and the correct ways to maintain them as well. Maintaining your weapons was just as important as using them properly. In some situations, it could mean life or death._

_Finally, she pulled herself together and got up, and he didn't spare another moment to tell her to prepare herself and ran at her. She just barely dodged the first punch by a hair, and she wasn't fast enough to block to second, but dodged instead, then blocked the third and attempted to counter on his fourth movement._

_Unfortunately, he was just too strong and fast for her and blocked her counter-attack, and she only just leapt out of the way to avoid his out-stretched leg which was coming at her in the exact same way that it had only a minute ago._

_This just further proved his thoughts on her quick progression. It only took her once to see his movement before being able to watch his muscle movement, feet and arm placement to figure out what he was going to do next. Granted, most of the time she noticed what he was going to do and just wasn't fast enough to get out of the way, but her speed seemed to be increasing rapidly as of late, which would eventually of her biggest advantages against him as well as anyone else._

_Since he was much bigger, taller, and heavier and she was small, nimble and agile, even though still not as fast as him, once her speed even matched his, she would immediately be able to dodge nearly everything he threw at her, merely because she was so much smaller and agile than he could ever be at his size._

_In years to come, her speed would be the only thing that would save her life. Especially when there was a sniper rifle involved..._

* * *

_Two weeks later, Taiyou was just about to start teaching her to use simple weapons, like kunai, shuriken, throwing knifes and senbon. Kunai were the easiest to start with, since a learner never used the actual metal blade to start with, instead, using wooden replicas that weighed a little more than the metal ones, so as to get the hands use to them and increase dexterity before practising with the sharpened weapons._

_Within a few days, she had grasped how to use the kunai properly, and Taiyou decided to allow her minimal usage of a mostly blunt kunai, just to see how she went. If she messed up, she would barely give herself a paper cut, but if she continued messing up, it wouldn't be very easy to use them without having the small cuts stinging all the time, therefore debilitating her movement._

_For the next three hours, she practised throwing the metal weapon at a target, and the majority of times getting near the bullseye, yet her aim was gradually getting better and better with each time thrown. Suddenly, she hit dead-on the bullseye, and smirked triumphantly._

" _You're improving quickly. Keep practising, I'll get us some lunch." the dark-haired man said, and got up from the bench at the side of his own small training area in his garage, and walked back towards the house to prepare them something to eat and restore their strength._

_Tsuki had been training almost every waking second since she woke up the morning after she got to Taiyou's. He had woken her at 7AM in the morning and made breakfast whilst talking her through what he would be training her in._

_Firstly, basic hand-to-hand combat. She would learn how to defend herself whilst being unarmed, as well as gaining physical strength, discipline, flexibility, agility, the ability to predict an opponent's movements, and learning to cope with pain._

_Secondly, basic weapons training, which they were doing at the moment. This would teach her how to aim and throw weapons, use them to be fatal or just to incapacitate a target, and she would eventually become able to use the weapons to become a deadly ranged fighter who used their stealth to complete their mission._

_Thirdly, Taiyou would combine the first two together, and teach her how to use hand-to-hand techniques with small weapons, such as kunai and shuriken. More than likely, this was one of the most important lesson for her, since this was the most used style of combat in the Sora Ops._

_Fourthly, he would up the difficulty on the hand-to-hand combat training and teach her some of the more advanced movements, combinations and techniques that he had knowledge of. Her physical strength would be pushed to the limits, and even further than she thought possible, as well as her speed and agility._

_Fifth, advanced weapons training. Taiyou would teach her to use katana – ninjato, wakizashi, as well as daisho -, sai, kusarigama, naginata, nunchucks, and finally, guns. She hated the idea of having to use guns, since those disgusting weapons were the ones most used to kill innocent people, and took no talent or practice to use. All you had to do is aim and pull the trigger._

_She saw no honour, no nobility in that. If you wanted to kill someone bad enough, then at least give the victim the respect by taking the time to learn how to use the weapon you were going to kill them with, so at least you were going to make sure that you didn't miss and make them suffer. But then again, not everyone was as rational as her._

_Some people wanted their victims to suffer, to scream, cry, and beg all for their own sick, sadistic desires. Those are the people she was training to stop from acting on those desires and urges, and if they did, she would catch them, and stop them, hopefully before they mercilessly killed innocent people that didn't deserve the torture and pain that they would get._

_All in all, Tsuki was disgusted in the modern world and humanity itself. Where were the knights and brave men and women of old that believed in death before dishonour, and that nobility was the most important quality a person could have?_

_The young girl just wished that people didn't have to be so stupid and feel the need to hurt others. She just wished that innocent people didn't have to die and their families and friends had to suffer with the pain of losing a loved one, just like she had._

_Only six years old, and she had witnessed three cold blooded murders, and Taiyou killing the man who committed them. Six years old and she had watched her beloved parents get bullets put through their skulls not a foot away from her, and a complete stranger also. She had already had a gun pointed straight at her, the man holding it entirely prepared to kill such a young child, all for his addiction._

" _What a_ horrible _world..." she whispered to herself, and continued throwing kunai at the target..._

* * *

Eight Years Later...

" _Are you ready?" Tsuki heard Taiyou say from the other end of the headset, from his position at the opposite of the town square._

_She responded with a small sound of acknowledgement, and now all they had to do was wait. Today, they had an extremely important mission, which happened to be Tsuki's ninth mission. There was a politician who wished to become Prime Minister in town today, and he was giving a speech on what he would like to do if he was to become the Prime Minister._

_They were there because the politician had received several threats against his life recently, and the Sora Ops had been called in simply to make sure that everything went smoothly and no important political figures got assassinated._

_Taiyou, quite obviously, was completely in control of all the security at the event and the place was absolutely crawling with people in tuxedos, regular police officers as well as other people from other agencies._

_Their biggest problem was that their was three large buildings that were in perfect view of the town square, and a sniper would be simple to use to take out the politician. Three days prior to the event, Taiyou and Tsuki had evaluated where the best point where for a sniper to be, and unfortunately the best spot was in an apartment building, and they couldn't get the clearance to evacuate the building completely because they had to keep this operation under wraps._

_So, Tsuki had been posted in the building, and she had several other people under her command. Except they didn't listen to her. At all. Taiyou had to keep giving orders because they wouldn't take Tsuki seriously. Were they too stupid to realise that she was in this position at the young age of 14 for a reason? Because she was qualified to be there. That's why._

_There was an hour until the event started and they were all just getting to their posts now. Well, Tsuki was, and her underlings were just hanging around chatting in the hallway._

" _Taiyou. I've had enough of these meat-heads ignoring my orders. They're just standing in the hallway talking and fart-assing around. Tell them to listen to me, or I get to carve my orders into their torso with a kunai." she hissed quietly, while looking at one of the men who was clearly flirting with the only woman in their group, but was being brushed off._

_Suddenly, Taiyou's voice boomed into their earphones and the underlings flinched at the abruptness._

" _Group Two agents standing in the hallway talking. If you don't start listening to your_ commanding Sora Ops agent _, I'll let her carve her orders into your torsos with a kunai, so then you won't forget them...ever." Taiyou said loudly and in the most authoritative and commanding voice he could, putting emphasis on the fact that Tsuki was a Sora Ops agent, when clearly they weren't._

_After hearing that message, they all looked towards Tsuki, who was standing a few metres away from them with her icy blue eyes that could just be seen through her mask glaring daggers at them all, and one hand resting casually on the handle of the first kunai in her leg holster and feeling proud that Taiyou had used her line._

" _But sir, she's like 12 years old. What is she doing here? And how did she become a Sora Ops agent? It shouldn't be possible!" said the man that was attempting to flirt with the female in their group._

" _Because I've been trained by Taiyou personally since I was six years old and I'm 14, by the way. I can bet that I've been in this job longer than you've been a police officer. And with all your laid back attitudes, I may as well not bother doing my job either so even if this guy gets killed, it won't be blamed on me. You'll all cop the wrap because you aren't part of the highest ranking and most successful law enforcement agency in this country, and probably the world." Tsuki answered his question all the while stalking towards him slow enough so that he barely even realised she was moving until she was standing right in front of him._

" _What will you have us do then, ma'am?" he gulped a little after seeing the cold fury in her eyes and straightened his black suit jacket awkwardly._

" _You can look after the first two levels, since your incompetence will require you to be as far away from me as possible because I'll stab you if you say anything else stupid. You can assist him, and continue to turn down his advances while your at it. You two, the third and fourth, and I'll look after the fifth level and the roof." she said, embarrassing the hell out of the male and female, and making the other two men chuckle under their breath._

" _And I swear, if this guy gets killed and I find out that one, two or all of you are at fault...I will hand your bruised and broken asses handed to you on a silver platter. Got it?" she spoke with no emotion and only just loud enough for them to hear her._

_They all nodded and quickly went off to their positions faster than she could say 'assassination'. Tsuki wandered around the fifth level and the others checked in when they had cleared both their levels. The third group was watching from the windows in the opposite building and making sure that they saw no guns or just suspicious behaviour in general._

_Half an hour later, when the politician walked out onto the stage, everyone's eyes became as sharp as hawks. The man's voice over the loudspeakers was nothing but white noise to Tsuki and Taiyou who were watching every inch of the buildings as well as the crowd on the ground._

" _Tsuki! Fifth level, window three from my left! Now!" Taiyou suddenly yelled over the speaker, and Tsuki immediately sprinted down the long hallway to the opposite end and reached what would be the apartment that had the window third from the left._

_Over the sound of her kicking down the door, she didn't hear Taiyou telling her to wait..._

* * *

_Four days later, Tsuki woke up in a white room and she immediately deduced she was in the hospital. Moments after waking, she got an immense but dull, throbbing pain in her left shoulder. She clenched her jaw at the sudden onslaught of pain. Out of the corner of her gradually focusing eyes, she saw Taiyou getting up out of his seat in the corner of the room._

_He pressed a button on a small handle looking object and put it in her right hand. A few seconds later her pain dulled even further. It was morphine. She couldn't really get the strength to speak yet, and her mouth and throat were incredibly and sore from not having anything to drink in so long._

" _It's good to see you awake. Do you remember what happened?" Taiyou spoke up, his voice sounding soft and quiet, and almost a little concerned. She shook her head. She remembered kicking down the door, and after that...nothing._

" _After I spotted the guy sitting in the window, I told you straight away to get there. I believe that you mustn't have heard me telling you to wait over the sound of kicking down the door, because moments later, I noticed another person in the background. You incapacitated them both on entry, but when you threw your kunai at the second person, he was holding the sniper rifle in your direction, and his muscles tensed up on impact and you received a point blank sniper shot to your shoulder, which is now in pretty terrible shape." he explained slowly, and softly, knowing that she would definitely hate herself for being so stupid as to let herself get shot, even though she saved a life._

" _You'll have to be in here for a few weeks, and they're going to do the best job they can to reconstruct it, but it won't ever be the same again. Part of your collarbone is gone as well, but it's not enough to cause too many problems. The real issue is rebuilding the muscle, and tissue that got blown off and then getting skin grafts over it...If you were any slower, the guy probably would have got you in the head or shot your arm completely off."_

_Suddenly, a woman poked her head inside the doorway and smiled a little, seeing that Tsuki was awake._

" _I heard Taiyou talking, and I thought I'd come in and see if you were awake, and you are. That's good. You certainly are quite a strong one. When we brought you in here, it took me ages to convince you to have the morphine drip. " the woman recalled the spaced out, and half-unconscious from blood loss girl trying to refuse morphine, saying that she would just handle the pain somehow. But eventually gave in after she had just forcefully injected her with some._

" _I'm sorry, I'm the Sora Ops doctor. Mitsuho Yui. You had me worried sick when you came in. I thought that you might have lost too much blood. But as I said, you're a strong one and you've pulled through rather well. Your muscle and tissue will take a very long time to fully grow back, and your going to require a hell of a lot of surgeries over the next few months to get it back in shape as best as we can." she continued, and Tsuki knew that this would be a real pain in the ass...or shoulder, more or less._

_She just felt so incompetent for letting this happen. She knew that Taiyou had been shot a few times, but not at point blank range with a sniper rifle using a 7.62mm bullet. He'd only been grazed on his arm once by a rifle, and shot in his right leg twice._

_The pain started to throb a little harder, and she hit the button on the morphine and immediately began to feel like she was drunk, or what she imagined being drunk would feel like. She could still feel the pain there, and she knew that Taiyou and the doctor were still in the room, but she had no idea what they were saying or if they were even talking to her._

_The healing process was definitely going to be a long and drawn out one..._

* * *

" _Well, I have nothing but good news for you." Yui, the Sora Ops private doctor said as she was looking at Tsuki's wound. "It's healing up wonderfully, and the muscle tissue is rebuilding itself even better thanks to that medicine I gave you and the makeshift metal end for your collarbone is doing great too. You'll probably make an almost full recovery, but I'd take it very slow while you are getting back into training, which I wouldn't even think about for the next week."_

" _I've already had an unpleasantly long time off training and missions. I have no interest in waiting much longer." Tsuki informed Yui with a slightly unhappy tone and a blank expression._

" _Yes, I know that. But if you make it worse, it may never heal as good as it can if you stay off it as much as you can until I tell you that it's fully healed. And_ I _have no interest in putting you through more surgeries. They're very complex and lengthy surgeries, and you'll probably have to have more a few years down the track anyway." Yui retorted firmly, letting Tsuki know that she couldn't risk doing even more damage to the already seriously damaged shoulder._

" _Fair enough then. I'll stay off it completely for the next week." Tsuki agreed reluctantly. She was sick of sitting around in a hospital bed in pain all the time. All she wanted to do was train and get fit again so she could get back in the game and start taking missions again, even though Taiyou probably wouldn't let her near a mission for at least the next month._

" _Alright. Well, you're free to go, but come back next week. I'll give you a call about the day and time." the female doctor helped up her patient from the seat after sticking Tsuki's patch down over her shoulder carefully and led her out the front door to the small hospital, which was really just an extension of Yui's house._

_Yui bid Tsuki goodbye and Tsuki thanked her before getting in the car that Taiyou was sitting in the driver's seat of, waiting for her to be discharged. Her shoulder didn't really hurt very much any more while she was still, even though she knew that she probably just got used to the pain, but when she moved it, it felt very stiff and it ached with pain when the muscles tried to be stretched too far._

_She was on some good painkillers though, but she hadn't taken any today, and probably wouldn't until she slept, so the pain didn't keep her up, or wake her up as she slept. The young teenager was absolutely going to loathe doing another week of sitting around until she got clearance from Yui to do some very light training._

_Taiyou had insinuated that he was going to be very strict on this, and that she would only start off doing some basic kata when she was able to, and he kept to his word. For the next week, she barely lifted a finger aside from getting something to eat, showering – which proved to be a difficult task when trying to wash her back -, and going to the toilet._

_When Yui gave her the green light to start training again, he supervised all her training sessions, which she could only do outside of school hours, which she had picked back up on now that she was out of the hospital, and when he wasn't on a mission, meaning that they were very limited._

_Even still, it was probably better off that way so that she didn't do too much and tear a muscle or a tendon or something. As frustrating as it was to wait and take things slow, eventually her shoulder didn't feel so stiff or sore when she moved it and Yui told her that she could start increasing her training intensity and a month later, things were mostly back to normal except for when she tried to push a little too hard and then it would be sore for a few hours._

_Most unfortunately, the pain would eventually flare up years later at the worst time possible..._

* * *

Tsuki woke to throbbing pain in her left shoulder. She hissed quietly and sat up straight away, her right hand clutching the area. Her jaw was clenched tightly, but other than that she showed no sign of pain on her face, being quite used to this happening.

"Are you alright?" a voice in the room asked softly, startling her a little since she wasn't paying attention to anything aside the pain in her shoulder.

"Yeah. I'm fine, Ryuzaki. Just an old wound..." she trailed off and sat staring at her lap for a moment before getting up walking over to her bag and pulling out a small medical box that she carried around with her everywhere. "Where's Ame and Kumo?"

"I'm not sure. They are more than likely still resting since I haven't seen them." Ryuzaki said as he looked down and to the left as if he was trying to remember if he'd seen or heard anything of the other two men.

"How long has it been?" Tsuki asked, wondering how long she'd been asleep for.

"Only about 6 hours. I got up 30 minutes ago...What is that?" his voice was confused and curious, and Tsuki followed his gaze to the small tube of numbing cream that she used to rub on her shoulder when it had random aches and pains in it.

"Cream. For my shoulder." she answered and pointed to the large messy scar which he could now see perfectly clear after she pulled down her shirt and bra strap to get at it better.

His jaw actually dropped at the sight. The scar was several inches wide and stretched from just below where the end of her collarbone was all the way to the top of her shoulder blade. It looked absolutely terrible, and he became exceedingly curious as to how it happened. Without thinking, he asked.

"How did it happen?"

"The scar?...Uh, on a mission several years ago. I got shot by a sniper rifle that was about the same distance from me as you are right now. It tore off half my shoulder, luckily it missed most of the bone, except for the end of my collarbone, which is metal, and most of my muscle which took months and months to reconstruct. I think I was out of action for almost 6 months." she answered his question, even though she wasn't entirely comfortable doing so, but at the moment, she just wanted to pain to stop.

She went to lift her right arm up to put cream on the scar, but a stinging pain across her tricep stopped her. After a quick inspection, she saw that she had a small laceration on her arm, more than likely from when she was fighting with the Aka Sora last night.

Thinking that it wasn't that bad, she again tried to lift her arm up, but it stretched the cut apart too far and she deduced that she wouldn't be able to do it herself without tearing the cut further open. Hesitantly, she looked over to L, who was watching her intently, and had too already deduced that she wouldn't be able to do it herself.

"Would you mind?" she asked very awkwardly, but it was almost cancelled out by his quick response of 'Okay' that sounded a little strained.

He walked over to the side of the bed she was sitting on and sat behind her after she passed the tube of cream to him. As soon as he started very nervously rubbing the cream on her shoulder, she remembered that you were supposed to wear a surgical glove whilst applying it so that your hand didn't go numb. She resisted the urge to crack up laughing at the mental image of L looking at his hand in that odd way he does, and wondering what the hell was going on.

Feeling like she needed some amusement, she didn't bring it up, and as he gently and quite nicely rubbed in the cream, she felt it begin to work as the pain died down gradually. A minute later he was finished, and he began to walk over to the seat by the small window but stopped halfway there, when he noticed his hand felt a bit odd.

After a moment of wondering why, he guessed that whatever effect the cream was supposed to have, it had also quite obviously affected his hand too. He felt a little silly, and turned to Tsuki who had something closer to amusement in her eyes than he had ever seen. The cream quickly took effect more, and soon enough he couldn't feel the whole front of his hand at all.

Exactly as Tsuki had pictured it, he lifted his hand up in front of his face and looked at it like it was some sort of foreign object, or that it was just magically growing a face on his palm right before his eyes. He shook it from side to side a bit, but still felt nothing and looked back to Tsuki for an explanation.

She was almost smirking now. "It's a numbing cream. Probably should've mentioned that."

"Yes. You should have. I now can't feel my hand." he said whilst looking between her face and his eyes with such a weird look on his face that her smirk grew into something closer to a smile than had ever graced her face for 17 years.

And then, she laughed.


	10. The Fall

**Chapter 10 – The Fall**

Tsuki actually _laughed_.

She didn't really know why, but L just looked so hilarious right now. Enough for her to break that icy cold, emotionless, unrevealing exterior and actually laugh out loud instead of just smirking behind her mask, or huffing lightly in amusement.

Because she didn't have her mask on, he could also see the smile appear and disappear, only to be replaced with a slightly confused but surprised look, as if she had only just remembered how to smile and how to laugh. He didn't know why or how his hand being numb and feeling like it wasn't even on the end of his arm was amusing enough for the composed and calm Tsuki to actually laugh, but he was glad it did.

The only other time he had seen her smile like that was when she was petting Hisuiro, and that time he barely took his eyes off her. She just looked so...different and so much more alive in a way that he could really explain. She looked so much more attractive when she smiled.

It emphasised the brightness of her eyes, the high cheekbones, and the curve of her small, but full lips. Her vibrancy was shown through her momentary smile, and now he'd never get the image out of his head. It was burned into his memory, just as when she had pinned him and put a kunai to his throat to warn him about sneaking up on her.

When he recalled that moment, the warmth of her body and the cold metal sitting against his vulnerable neck, and her blue eyes that stood out even in the darkness of the room, and midnight black hair falling all around her.

He needed to go to the bathroom. Now.

He tried to be casual, but she was too observant to not pick up on his abrupt onset of discomfort. It was only moments after she had laughed, and he realised that he must have been staring at her ever since. It seems that she was becoming more and more distracting of late, and especially when his body was reacting like this.

Only moments later, he reached the bathroom and shut the door behind him. A young man, he most certainly was, but those kinds of urges didn't really occur to him or present themselves to him at all. He could freely acknowledge if he thought a woman was attractive, pretty, beautiful etcetera, but Tsuki was something else. Her mystery only increased her appeal and he was starting to wonder about whether he could control himself around her.

Would he just continue staring at her all the time? Or would he keep to himself and pretend she wasn't there unless he had to acknowledge her presence?

 _'I guess that it would be hard for men not to be in the least bit attracted to her. Like Ame for example. She is incredibly smart, trustworthy, brave, honourable, and very self-sacrificing, not to mention beautiful...'_ he thought to himself as he paced in circles - since the bathroom wasn't long enough to pace up and down - whilst he bit his thumb thoughtfully.

Normally, something like this wouldn't phase him. But since he had met Tsuki, things had been a bit different. He'd become a little more considerate, since he was the victim of her burning glare if he wasn't, and he didn't really treat people like they were all under him. He didn't mean to do it in a belittling or demeaning way at all, it was just that he was on a higher level on thought than most and he didn't know how to interact with most people.

But Tsuki...well, she was just as smart as him, so he didn't have to. The only other person he was around on a regular basis was Watari aside from when he was a very young child, and he always made sure to be very polite to Watari, even though the father/grandfather-figure would do anything for the young man.

Speaking of which, he pulled his phone out of the pocket of Ame's pants and he rang Watari's number. Watari would already know about what happened, and he had already contacted him when they had gotten here telling him that he was alright and that he would talk to him soon.

The old man answered his phone only a few seconds after it began to ring, signalling that he was still worried. It made L smile a little before getting down to business. He asked Watari where he was, and the man told him that he was at the Sora Ops headquarters with Taiyou. He also mentioned that Taiyou had planned on calling Tsuki when he got out of the meeting he was currently in, and that he needed everyone at headquarters asap.

He informed Watari that he would tell Tsuki, Ame and Kumo now and they'd be there as soon as possible. After he hung up, he smiled again glad to know that Watari was safe and sound. L opened the bathroom door and told Tsuki about what Watari had said, and she immediately got up and started getting ready to head off.

Firstly, she went over to Ame and Kumo's room and woke them up, telling them that they needed to be at headquarters as soon as possible and that they'd meet them there. She didn't really feel like waiting around for their lazy asses to get out of bed and get ready, so she could just go now and let them take their time.

It didn't take her and L long to be ready, and she asked him to carry Hisuiro again, but this time a little nicer and they walked out of the inn and to the motorbike that was still parked outside. They both hopped on, L being a little less hesitant this time and headed straight for headquarters.

When they got there they went in through the pathologists lab, who was thankfully at lunch and didn't get a chance to see L. He was thankful that she was still going to all this effort for him and it was just furthering his almost infatuation with her. She was right, she really did protect him. She risked her own life not just to protect herself, but him too.

As he thought more about it while they were standing in the elevator, he realised how much of a responsibility that was. Sometimes he forgot how important he could be to society and to the world. Maybe because he didn't take up cases that often, since most of the time the police could solve it themselves.

They walked through the big metal door that led to the their office after Tsuki swiped her clearance card, and Tsuki felt much more comfortable here than in various hotels in the city. Clearly, staying in hotels, no matter how often they switched, wasn't going to protect them anyway.

Now it was time for them to sort out what their next move would be.

She took Hisuiro out of the backpack, and was relieved when she remembered she put a tank here for when she was working on a case and didn't get home often. L greeted Watari while they waited and spoke quietly to him for a moment before Taiyou came out of his office and seemed glad to finally see them there.

"Where's Ame and Kumo?" he asked, noticing that there was still two people missing.

"Here!" Ame's voice trailed through from down the hallway, signalling that they'd just walked in the big doors.

"Good...We have a lead. Another agent of ours is currently undercover, working to try and find a chance to bust this illegal weapon manufacturing and shipping ring. The man who is in charge of the whole operation is a well known criminal named Hetoshi Kitaro who the police have been trying to get hard evidence so they can convict him, but it just hasn't happened yet. And apparently, he makes a lot of custom weaponry. One of them, is this..." Taiyou explained, and held up a weapon that looked exactly like the murder weapon that had killed all the police officers, as well as Kotone Fuyuko and Hoshi.

Tsuki currently was standing at the table that had all the files from the agent's case on it and she had one foot up on the table, and L noticed that her hand twitched over her boot when she saw the weapon Taiyou had. He thought nothing of it, because usually that happened when she was angry and mentioning something that was directly involved with Hoshi's murder would undoubtedly get to her.

"Let's move on him as soon as possible. Bust him for accessory to mass murder. Let's use him to find out what the Aka Sora are planning." Ame said, just so angry that this man still hadn't been caught and he was the man who sold weapons that killed so many people, and probably many more that weren't involved in this case.

"No. That's too swift. We need to use him to flush them out somehow. We should get one of us undercover. This is a chance we cannot miss." Tsuki countered, knowing that they couldn't just move straight in on him because if they did, the Aka Sora would disguise their movements even more.

"I know of the perfect chance to slip someone in. And you all aren't going to like this idea, but I think it will work." Taiyou spoke up a little hesitantly, knowing that the idea he had already come up with would definitely not go down well, so much so that it might not even happen.

"What are you thinking?" Kumo asked, wondering what could possibly be so bad when all of them would do mostly anything to make good use of this guy to help catch the Aka Sora.

"Our agent said that he's quite a man of high tastes, and it happens to be his birthday and he is planning a large formal party at his manor outside of the city tomorrow night. Also, he seems to have a problem controlling himself with women." his voice became more and more reluctant, even though that only Tsuki could really tell because any kind of emotion in his voice was so minimal that only she could pick up on it.

"What are you trying to say?" Tsuki interrupted, her eyes narrowed in anticipation, having a feeling she knew what he was going to say next.

"I think you should go undercover, and see what you can get out of him."

Tsuki's already blank expression went completely dead-panned, and showed only a hint of bewilderment, as if she hadn't really expected him to go that far, even though he knew her thoughts about something like that, as well as everyone else. Kumo averted his eyes from Tsuki, knowing that this was undoubtedly going to cause problems. Ame glared at Taiyou, being very worried about what might happen.

L for one was terrified. He also knew that Tsuki was strong and wouldn't be harmed too easily, but he was still incredibly concerned that somehow she might get put into a situation where she couldn't fight back without blowing her cover and destroying all chance of them getting information that may help them track down the Aka Sora.

In a rare display of emotion, Tsuki inhaled deeply and sighed long and slow. At this point, she was prepared to try almost anything. But this would mean unmasking herself, to more than just the general public. She would be unmasked in front of the enemy themselves, putting her in more danger than ever before, especially because she'd be in their territory.

But at this point, they were running out of options and this chance would be almost perfect to finally make some sort of progression on this case so they could stop the needless murders that were being committed.

"I hate to say it, but I don't think we have much choice at the moment. We've got to do something, make some sort of move that can help us get ahead or at least give us a starting point. I have to do it." she resignedly said, feeling an almost obligation to accept.

Ame made no further verbal objections, but his tone spokes in volumes. "Well, if this is some fancy party, it seems that we need to get you something to wear."

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Tsuki? I'm sure we could figure something else out." Kumo said loudly enough for her to hear behind Taiyou's office door, where she was currently getting changed to make sure that the dress Watari had gone out and chosen for her would fit.

She had taken her hair out of her usual plait, and straightened it, since the waves the plait left looked ridiculous and as unfamiliar as it was, she had used a bit of make-up, knowing that this was a formal event, and she actually had to look like she fitted in there. The lower level agent had been sworn to secrecy about ever telling anyone that Tsuki was the one attending the event with him, and she was pretending to be his sister.

The agent's 'name' for this operation was Daichi and hers was now Mizuki, which meant beautiful moon. Funnily enough, and to everyone's surprise, Tsuki's especially, L had actually suggested it, almost making her blush at the sudden compliment, but thankfully she kept herself composed aside from a slow blink.

With one last look in the mirror that had been brought into Taiyou's office after being removed from the bathroom wall, she shrugged since no one was around to see it, feeling like a fool, but thinking that she'd probably fit in well enough and took a deep breath, knowing the bombardment she would receive would be irritating as hell, and she'd never hear the end of it unless she killed the lot of them.

A murderously blank expression came over her face as soon as she opened the door and Kumo noticed her. His jaw dropped instantly and his eyes were as wide as saucers. Ame also noticed at a bad time since he was leaning back on his chair, and ended up losing his balance and falling backwards, breaking the silence in the office with a loud crash and grunts of pain.

Taiyou and Watari both looked as shocked as they could, surprised at how quickly she changed in such a dramatic way. Watari was almost certain that in his old age that she had switched herself with someone else, but that murderous glare couldn't be pulled off any better by anyone else other than Tsuki.

L finally looked up from his computer screen, and almost keeled over and died right there. He was taken so off guard that his brain didn't even remember to make him look shocked and he just stared at her.

She was wearing a full length black dress, with one side cutting off a little higher and showing some toned calf-muscle. It came down her neck and chest like a 'V', stopping just between her average size breasts and when she turned around to pick up Hetoshi's file and inspect it over once more, he saw that the back on the dress barely existed. It was also a 'V' shape and stopped only about 5 inches higher than were he presumed her rear end would start.

The long black hair that he had only seen out of the usual plait once was falling around her shoulders, gleaming in the lights and perfectly straight. Her black eyes were framed with eye liner, and long eyelashes made longer by mascara and eye-shadow that started in the corner of her eye as white, and went along, gradually fading to a dark grey and she was made a little taller by a pair of shiny black heels.

If he thought that he was near infatuated with her earlier, well he was definitely infatuated with her now. He continued to stare at her, just so enamoured with her transformation, and the fact that she actually wasn't wearing her cloth mask for once, meaning that he could see the slightly turned up corners of her mouth, almost as if she felt kind of flattered by the men staring at her.

She put Hetoshi's file back down, satisfied that she knew enough about him to know what to do when the time came and turned towards the three youngest men in the room sitting near each other, still gawking at her.

"Why do I see dilated pupils?" she asked loudly with a tone that said 'Stop staring, or die' and looked between L and Ame, and Ame suddenly looked embarrassed and turned away while L was left confused.

Kumo noticed L's confusion, and answered the silent question for him. "Dilated pupils means that your sexually aroused." he casually informed the scruffy haired man just loud enough for him to hear and enjoying the slight widening of his eyes and the surprised then thoughtful expression as if he just had an epiphany.

The computer whiz smiled, knowing exactly what was happening in the detective's head, and he'd been seeing it happen lately, increasing in frequency. At first, it had made him a little cautious and concerned, but after a while, he'd realised that these two were too stupid to figure it out by themselves, unless given a bit of a push, let alone act on it.

L had a massive crush on Tsuki and Tsuki had noticed his behaviour, but not realised the full extent of it, most likely because it was directed at her, and not at someone else. She already knew that Ame was head over heels for her, but only because Kumo had told her to watch how he acted towards her, and of course, with her being able to read any expression on someone's face and their body language, she had figured it out pretty quickly.

On the other hand, L was much more used to being blank faced and unrevealing, like Tsuki was, so it would be a bit harder for her to read him, especially when he contemplated things in a completely different way, and his deductive abilities were through the roof compared to Ame, who was still very intelligent.

Kumo couldn't help but think that Tsuki would like L because he was just like her in many ways. They were both smart, perceptive, observant and kind of socially retarded, although Tsuki wasn't as bad since she had been working with other people for many years.

For the moment, he thought it was best to leave it, and he was sure that L could get a hold of himself sooner or later.

"Okay, here's your microphone and earpiece, both wireless." the brown-haired man said while he got up and walked over to Tsuki, and handed her the technology, and helped her put it on, since she wasn't exactly used to doing undercover work like _this_ and being in a dress for what was probably the first time in her life seemed a bit confusing to her.

"You look wonderful." he whispered quietly to her with a shadow of a smile on his face before being satisfied with the set up and going to sit back at his computer.

"Testing." she said a few times into the microphone so Kumo could adjust the volume, and also her earpiece volume, which they wanted to be almost silent, so that they would only say something if they absolutely had to.

When everything was set and good to go, as if on queue the doorbell went off, signalling that Daichi was waiting for her. Kumo wished her good luck and L said almost to himself for her to be careful, but she noticed it anyway, and Ame just smirked at her. Watari was going to be their driver for the night so he stood up from his chair and walked out with her.

The large metal doors opened, and Tsuki could swear that Daichi looked faint for a moment after laying eyes on her.

"Tsuki-sama, is that what you really look like?" he asked breathlessly, absolutely shocked at the sight of the woman before him.

"Do you really think I would reveal my face when we are heading into enemy territory, let alone at any time in public?" she retorted sharply, with a blank tone, reminding him of who he was speaking to.

"Ah, that's true. So it's a disguise? It's a very good one." Daichi said, clearly feeling a little stupid after what Tsuki had said to him.

She brushed off his comment, resisting the urge to roll her eyes and they continued towards the elevator and went all the way down to the underground car park. Minutes later, they were well on their way to this party, and Tsuki was feeling very unnerved about all of this. She knew that revealing her face in public would be difficult, but what better way to outsmart the enemy than to do the one thing they'd never expect, something like this in particular.

If the Aka Sora were there and knew what she looked like underneath it all, they'd more than likely attack her, which would turn everything into a shit fight, but she was entirely prepared for that. In a way, she was kind of hoping for it.

All she really wanted was to catch these slippery bastards and either kill them herself, or have them locked up for the rest of their worthless lives, and then some. This was one of the best chances they had to track them down and she'd be damned if she messed it up. She would get every ounce of information she could from this, Hetoshi, and then if she had even the slightest hunch that he knew something, she'd bring him in. Enough said.

It took them quite a while to get out to Hetoshi's estate, which was massive, and rather beautiful. If Tsuki was ever going to have a big mansion, garden, pool and whatever else, it would probably look something like this.

They pulled up at the security check and Watari lowered the back driver's side window, where Daichi was sitting. The security guard recognised him immediately, and then looked over to see Tsuki, who purposely put on an amazed and excited expression. It felt extremely odd making actual expressions instead of just raising a cynical or slightly amused eyebrow, and she was very uncomfortable about revealing her face, but he didn't seem to recognise her at all, and let them through without another word.

When they drove into the estate, you could see even more and it truly was an amazing place. There was a small area for all the black, shiny cars to turn around and exit the estate as well as area for parking and Watari was kind enough to drop them off at the front door, before going to park.

As Tsuki expected, the security at the front door was tight, but it wasn't anything they couldn't handle. Daichi got straight out and walked around as one of the security guards was opening her door. She smiled at the guard who smiled right back after looking her up and down as she gracefully got out of the car.

Daichi, playing the part well, took her arm and smiled at her while they walked into the massive room that was just like in the movies with the two large staircases leading up each side at the end of the room. Security wasn't as plain to see in here, but there were cameras everywhere, and more than likely Hetoshi had men undercover as well.

Most of the people recognised Daichi, and came over to greet him, and he continued to introduce 'Mizuki' to every one of them, and Tsuki played the part better than she expected to. These people were so stupid and self-absorbed that she was sure that she could say anything to them and it wouldn't phase them because they'd be too busy looking in their reflection off some surface that allowed them to do so.

So far, it was going wonderfully, and after saying hello to all these different people, the man himself, Hetoshi appeared at the top of the staircases, dead in the middle, holding up a glass of champagne. He was dressed in a white suit, with a white undershirt and a plain red tie. Pretty proverbial for a man like him.

He hit his champagne glass gently with a spoon, and the light sound echoed through the room, bringing everyone's attention to Hetoshi. The room was completely silent in waiting for him to speak.

"Thank you everyone for coming. This is a wonderful birthday gift and I appreciate each and every one of you for taking the time to come out here, I know some of you have come quite a distance. I truly hope that you will enjoy this night, and I will try and come around to personally thank you all." he said with finality, and his voice rung through the large hall, reaching even the people in the back.

With a single nod to the small orchestra, music began to flow all around the room. Tsuki watched as Hetoshi descended the stairs and begin talking to people who were waiting to speak with him. Daichi gave her a gentle nudge, and she snapped out of it and he took her to the dance floor, completely ignoring her hissed protests.

A minute or two later, the song finished, and they moved off the floor towards Hetoshi who noticed them very quickly.

"Ah, Daichi. So glad you could make it." Hetoshi greeted him with a smile and turned to Tsuki, who was standing next to him, looking innocently at a glimmering chandelier that was hanging from the ceiling. "And you must be Mizuki. I've heard a lot about you from Daichi."

Not missing a beat, the second her 'name' was said, Tsuki looked down and straight into Hetoshi's eyes, and smiled happily at him. "Yes. It's lovely to meet you, Hetoshi-dono. You have such a beautiful estate." she returned kindly and politely, still smiling even though she wanted to punch him in the face for how much his eyes were roaming over her figure.

"The pleasure is all mine, my dear. And please, just call me Hetoshi." he spoke as smoothly as he could and took a gentle hold of her hand before pressing a light kiss to the back of it, making 'Mizuki' smile and _try_ to blush, and making Tsuki want to rip his head off for even touching her and for those thoughts that she could see passing behind his eyes.

The next song started, and Hetoshi turned to Daichi and asked him if he could dance with 'Mizuki', to which of course he accepted, and as much as Tsuki still wanted to rip his head off, she knew that there would be no other way to get close enough to him to find out whether he knew anything or not, so she'd just have to live with it for the moment.

Fortunately, he was very gentlemanly while they danced, and never let the hand on her waist drop and pull her closer to him than was necessary and she was incredibly glad for that. The song continued and he began to make small talk with her.

"So, Hetoshi. What kind of work do you and Daichi do?" she asked innocently, lacing her voice with as much sugar as L had in his coffee.

"He hasn't told you?" he answered with his own question, seeming a little surprised at her question.

"No, I'm not sure why, but it makes me worry about him." Tsuki said and down slightly with her brow pulled together, faking all these expressions perfectly.

"Well, we do weapons manufacturing and shipping." he replied, much easier than she expected, but glad that she could get that much from him so soon.

"Wow, and that's how you could afford this beautiful house and land? Maybe I should look into a similar line of work." she laughed at the end of her sentence, making Hetoshi smile, but she noticed straight away that it wasn't a genuine smile.

"No, it's really not that good. The money is wonderful, but I don't really like the people that I have to deal with sometimes." he admitted quietly and that seemed true.

"Whys that?" Tsuki looked at him with sympathetic blue eyes that she was sure just begged him to tell her everything.

"Being a weapons manufacturing company, you deal with large groups who are quite clearly hostile and want customised weaponry. I'd much rather get out of the business if I could." he continued, and again he seemed like he was telling the truth.

"Do you mean gangs? Like that Aka Sora that's been on the news?" she almost whispered, trying to sound truly worried and concerned.

"Y-yes, something like that. In fact, I'm quite sure that recently one of my clients that asked for customised weapons recently has been committing crimes."

She didn't understand how he seemed to feel remorse for his work, yet continue to do it. But right now, that wasn't the important thing. His suspicion level had went through the roof the very moment he had stuttered and his eyes had widened after she mentioned the Aka Sora. There was no denying it.

Hetoshi Kitaro was involved with the Aka Sora.


	11. The Eclipse

**Chapter 11 – The Eclipse**

 

* * *

 

Tsuki had no doubt about it now. Hetoshi was definitely involved with the Aka Sora, but as she picked up earlier, he seemed almost reluctant about his work. She was certain that there was something deeper about his work that she had to find out. They had no choice but to take him in.

She would just have to keep playing along and find a way to get him into a more private setting. The only problem was, is that she would more than likely have to do the one thing she never wanted to have to do on the job; use her femininity to get her way.

Unfortunately, she didn't have much of a choice at the moment though, because she couldn't just punch him in the face, knocking him out, drag his unconscious ass out to the car through the front door, and drive back to headquarters with all these people around. She couldn't ask Daichi for help either because it might blow his cover even though he had already gotten enough evidence to be convicted of his crimes.

So, she continued to dance with him for another few songs, making small talk with him and incorporating more and more of her cover story that Taiyou had thought up for her to make him feel sorry for her. It seemed to be working very well so far and Hetoshi pulled her aside to get a glass of champagne and some of the fancy finger food, which they both enjoyed and Tsuki felt good about eating something that tasted really good and was healthy.

As they stood idly by, watching the scenery of woman in long dresses and men in tuxedos stepping and twirling to the music in front of them, Tsuki's annoyance with the situation grew. It was just as she had thought earlier. These people had no interest in celebrating a 'friends' birthday. She could see it written all over their faces, clear as day.

No, it was all about keeping up appearances, pleasantries, and trying to find ways for self-advancement. They had no cares for other people in the world, aside themselves and to her, that was disgraceful. People like that didn't even deserve to have 'loved ones' if they would freely give them up to get what/where they wanted in life.

She would have given her own life in exchange for the lives of her parents, but she didn't because she didn't get a chance to. She also knew that it would be too hard for a parent to know that they had to bury their own child that they had raised from being in diapers, to school uniforms, to business clothes, although her parents only got to see up to the second one, and barely.

Also, she would have sacrificed herself for _him,_ but she knew from the look in his eye that it was the right thing to do. In times where it was life or death, you had to make sure that you made the right decision, especially when it might cost more than one person's life, who had decided to stay behind all for the sake of saving someone they cared for.

Tsuki had known then, that he wanted to save her more than anything, and even though her resolve to save him was just as strong, he had always believed that the man saving the life of the woman he loved was the right thing to do.

So, she had left, and as he asked, she didn't look back.

"Mizuki-san? Are you alright?" Hetoshi's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she apologised sincerely quickly after she regained her wits.

Even though she hated this guy for the part he might have played in all those needless deaths, he was being nothing less but polite and kind to her, so she didn't think she should be rude, even on accident. Not that she could act like her usual cold self while trying to find out about his involvement with the Aka Sora anyway.

With a man like this, it just wouldn't work. She continued to speak to him as he enjoyed another glass of champagne which she politely declined his offer for another one, having barely taken a few sips from her first. She couldn't be any less than her fullest on a mission like this, being so deep in enemy territory.

At that moment, Kumo gave her a great idea, hearing his whispered, tinny sounding voice in her ear. "Get him to give you a tour of the place." he muttered quietly, only just thinking of the idea himself impressing everyone, especially L, who was still a bit too worried to think of something so simple.

"Hetoshi-san, would you be so kind as to give me the grand tour of your beautiful home?" she said with an intrigued tone, and purposely let her bright blue eyes get a slightly devilish glint to them, having not much clue as to how she did it.

"Of course my dear! Right this way." he gestured for her to take his arm, and she complied, even though she felt like nothing more than a trophy woman. He led her upstairs, and she knew that Daichi would be watching closely, and she quickly turned her head and nodded almost imperceptibly to him, letting him know that things were going to heat up very shortly and that if he needed to get out, then get the hell out.

As they walked, he pointed out each of the artworks on the wall, telling her who painted it, when it was completed, what it was about or what it represented, and if it was of anything in particular as well as any other random fact about the artist that he could think of off the top of his head.

They walked down a large hallway, also having more artworks hanging on the walls and eventually came out into a large open space that had more glass on one wall, than actual wall itself. He told her about how he enjoyed sitting on the cushy lounge and watching the sunset every evening. Clearly, he was talking up his own ass, and she only just heard Kumo say nearly the exact same thing through her earpiece.

She resisted the urge to smirk deviously and continued to stroll alongside her host as they made their way down another hallway and came to four doors, three of which led to the three guest rooms that were all en suites, and she was shown the one Daichi was staying in for the time being.

The last room at the end of the hall was his own bedroom, also an en suite. She had to admit to herself that she was rather impressed with it. There was a beautiful small chandelier on the roof, as well as a lamp next to the bed, which was so big it could probably fit 7 of her on it. The bath was huge also, and would fit almost 5 of her, and the rest of the bathroom was white, clean and nothing was out of place.

It was a stunning room, to say that least, too much for Tsuki's tastes, but she wouldn't complain if someone gave her a house with a master bedroom like this in it. When he stopped speaking about all the features in his room, it was time for her to pounce, so to speak. She couldn't drop the act just yet, but her guard was raised to the point where she'd probably accidentally kill him if the curtain moved in the breeze.

While she was standing there, she looked around the room for any signs of cameras or wiretaps like she had seen in almost every other corner of the house outside the master bedroom. As she expected, there were none that she could see straight off the bat, and she guessed that he wouldn't want any evidence of what he did in this room.

Her almost sixth sense picked up on the change in his demeanour, and she heard him approach her from behind and she desperately struggled with her instinct and to make sure she didn't just put him on his ass before he even got the chance to get close enough to lay a hand on her.

Hetoshi got right up behind her and she could feel his body heat and hear his slightly heavy breathing. _Wait...wait...wait..._ her mind told her, making sure that she didn't lash out too early, possibly allowing him the chance to alert a near by guard of their presence.

With disgust, she stood still, even with her muscles screaming to tense reflexively, but she kept them relaxed even as his arms snaked around her waist, and she could just barely feel his breath on the back of her neck. It was all she could do to not break both of his arms, his nose and then break his neck before he'd even realised it.

All credit to her many years of discipline, commitment and self-control, she didn't and waited for the perfect moment to take him down.

"Mizuki-san, you seem to be feeling a bit tense. Are you uncomfortable?" his smooth voice with the predatory hint in it reached her ears and she knew she couldn't keep it up any longer.

Her face became cold again, and she immediately felt better. She felt like herself again. Hetoshi's hands moved up to her shoulders and he gently turned her around, only to wonder where the kind, shy yet beautiful woman he had met only an hour or so earlier had gone once he saw the blank, yet furious expression.

"What's going on?" he just managed to get out before his arms were twisted painfully and he somehow ended up face down on the ground, with a gag stopping him from making any noise, and his wrists had been cuffed.

"You're under arrest. I have reasons to believe that you are involved with the criminal group, the Aka Sora who have been killing people for too long now." she answered, pushing her knee into his back to stop him from struggling and she heard Kumo's voice moments later.

"Good work. From your current location, I'd say you'll have to go out the bedroom window so Watari can drive around the back and get you." he sounded relieved and she knew he was proud of her.

"I'll be around in a minute." Watari said and they all heard the engine starting up and the car moving off. A short time later, he spoke again. "I am just near the bedroom window."

"I'm coming down now." Tsuki responded and she lifted up the bed quilt, and pulled out the small pack underneath the large bed that Daichi had planted for her, and started attaching a grappling hook belt around Hetoshi's waist. She had two this time, knowing that it was more than likely that she would have to do this and she dragged him over to the large double window, and opened it, quickly stepped out onto the balcony and checked for any cameras or guards down below.

When she decided that it was all clear, she attached the top of the grappling hook to the balcony rail and slowly lowered Hetoshi down, all the while he struggled and tried to break free of his cuffs. She saw him touch the ground, and then disconnected the grappling line, but made sure to hook it onto her own belt, eliminating the possibility the he could somehow manage to get up and run away while she was lowering herself down.

A moment later, she landed and disconnected her own hook, and now she bound Hetoshi's legs and put a blindfold over his eyes, then casually threw him in the boot of the car before getting in the back seat and quickly texting Daichi to let him know that she had captured Hetoshi, and that she was going back to headquarters.

Just as she told him to, he sent back a blank text, making it look less obvious that he was writing a message to confirm that he'd received Tsuki's. Watari put the car in gear and they drove off the same way they came in, and no one seem to look twice. Successfully, they got off the grounds and all the way to headquarters without Daichi telling them that Hetoshi's absence had been noticed. Tsuki quickly untied the ropes around Hetoshi's legs so that he could walk, and off they went.

As per usual, they went through the pathologists lab, and it was completely empty for the moment. Watari handed her a full length-trench coat, and her Sora Ops mask so that she could not be embarrassed while walking through to put Hetoshi in the interrogation room.

No one thought twice about her walking past, even whilst dragging a white-suited, middle aged male behind her, with Watari heading towards the elevator. Hetoshi was pushed down onto a seat in the interrogation room, and Tsuki shut the door before sitting down opposite to him and put one leg up on the seat.

She reached over and cut his blindfold off with a single swipe of a kunai and he looked around fearfully after his eyes focused. He looked terrified and once he saw the kunai in Tsuki's hand, the fear nearly seemed to double.

"Hetoshi Kitaro. As I said earlier, I have reason to believe that you have been supplying customised weaponry to the Aka Sora. Tell me, is this true?" she asked straight off the bat, not liking the 'beat around the bush' kind of tact.

The man knew he'd been beat. "Yes. I have been. But please, allow me to explain." he looked to Tsuki for permission to explain why he had been supplying the Aka Sora with weapons and continued when she nodded once.

"A few months ago, my wife was killed in the crossfire when a business deal went sour. I was devastated, and I knew that it was my fault that I didn't protect her, and keep her out of harm's way. Her death was a result of my own carelessness, something I'll never forgive myself for. A month after it happened, a strange masked man broke into my room in the middle of the night. He tied me to my bed, and gagged me and I was certain he was going to kill me, but he just talked to me." Hetoshi's eyes were unfocused, as if he was recalling that particular memory to the front of his mind.

"What did he talk about?" Tsuki questioned, feeling confused about the concept of this 'masked man'.

"He told me that someone from the...uh...Sora Ops was supposed to stop the deal and catch us both red-handed, but when it didn't work out and my wife died as well as many of my men and some of the other men as well, technically he failed. He also died from a stray gunshot that hit his lung. The man also told me that the Sora Ops were supposed to be like secret agents who were meant to stop this tragedy from occurring and that I should want revenge."

"How did he know about the Sora Ops?" Tsuki was absolutely shocked. This kind of information was known by the general public. At all. In fact, no one lower than a Superintendent was supposed to have knowledge of the Sora Ops' existence. This 'masked man' must have been pretty high up the law enforcement world.

"He never said. I was angry at first when he told me this, but then I still knew deep down that it was my own fault that my wife died. He asked me to assist him in 'purging the world of the failures in the Sora Ops' and said that I was essential in him achieving his goals." he quoted the exact words of the man, since they had constantly stuck with him since he first heard them.

Tsuki showed the closest thing to shock as she could, with slightly widened eyes. She had been hearing light chatter in the earpiece, but Kumo's voice became louder and clearer, and he was speaking to everyone.

"What the fuck? Who is this masked guy?" he asked rhetorically, and Tsuki knew his brow would be tightly knit and his jaw dropped slightly in surprise at hearing all of this.

"At first, I refused, but he forced me into complying. So from then on, my little business got much bigger. All I had wanted to do was have ceremonial and replica weapons made, not make and sell weapons to criminals. I found out much later on that he had gathered a small force who all wanted revenge against these agents who had apparently failed their missions and something bad had happened to them as a result."

"Do you know his name, or alias that he went by?" Tsuki asked, actually feeling kind of bad for Hetoshi. She could see right through his attempt at a tough exterior into the centre of his soul, where he just missed his wife, and wanted to be left alone. She could also empathise with him a little.

"He goes by the name 'Eclipse'. No one knows his real name." Hetoshi replied, knowing that the man never let anyone get close enough to him to find anything out about him.

"Do you know any of the other people in the group?" Tsuki hoped that he did, but she didn't think that this 'Eclipse' would allow his group to be so careless.

"No, sorry. We all had to wear masks, and there wasn't many of us, so we were given alias' after colours. There was 3 of us that ran the group aside Eclipse, and we were each in charge of one thing. My alias was Gin, and I was in charge of weapons. There is Ao, who was in charge of getting information and the man in charge of training everyone was known as Kiiro. We're supposed to have a meeting whenever Eclipse contacts us and makes one, but we never know when it will happen. I'm sure that there's more of them that I haven't seen, but Eclipse just tried to limit everyone's knowledge of the inner workings of the group."

"I see. Have you tried to back out at all?"

"N-no. I've made my views on not being pleased with what we're doing quite public in the meetings, but every time I do, Eclipse just glares at me and it's really quite terrifying." he asked, a glimmer of hope in his eyes at the prospect of not being forced to make weapons that were killing people.

"What kind of weapons did you supply them with?" She reached into the pocket of the coat and pulled out one of the customised kunai, slamming it down on the table. "Something like this?"

"Yes. Yes, that's one of my weapons. How did you get it?"

"Long story. But that's not important at the moment. I want to make sure that any other weapons that you've supplied them with aren't being used in other murders that we just have yet to link to the Aka Sora. Tell me about every single detail of each weapon, as much as you can remember." Tsuki said, trying to cover all options. There might be a chance that the Aka Sora had killed more innocent people, civilians even, but they just hadn't been able to match the M.O.

"Well, the kunai with the serrated edges for starters. I've been making them for many years though. It was on a personal request from a male about a year and a half ago. Eclipse requested them as well, though I doubt that they have any affiliation. I made them regular shuriken. He also asked me to make some long range weaponry, like kyoketsu shoge, kusarigama, manriki-gusari and other things like nunchucks." he listed, trying to make sure that he didn't forget anything.

"So only the kunai design was changed?" Tsuki asked, kind of astonished at all the different styles of weaponry that the Aka Sora must be proficient in using. She was able to use all the ones he listed, but she wasn't flawless at using all of them. Hetoshi nodded in answer to her question, but then he seemed to abruptly remember something.

"I've also made Eclipse a special katana. The blade itself is about 55cm long, 65-70ish including the hilt. There was the kanji for 'Sora' carved into the hilt and it was painted red while the rest of the hilt was black. The cross-guard was a simple circle shape, with four holes through it, one on either side of the blade and one at the front with the last at the back. If you ever see a man with that blade, it's him, it's Eclipse. There's no other blade like it."

Tsuki memorised the description, getting a mental image of the weapon in her mind. "Is there anything else you think might help?"

"I can't think of anything at the moment. Everything is so secretive that it's hard to get enough information to help. But trust me, I'll do anything I can. I have no interest in assisting the Aka Sora to kill people."

"Well, you'd help anyway whether you wanted to or not. To be honest, I'm not comfortable with waiting until the next meeting is called, and I strongly doubt that we could get you in and out with a wire on without being caught. I presume that you don't have the meeting in the same place every time." she half-asked, just wanting confirmation on her theory, thought she doubted that 'Eclipse' would be so stupid.

Hetoshi shook his head. "It would always be in a very odd and unpredictable place. We've only had four meetings in total, and the last one was quite a while ago. I'm sorry, but I can't remember where they were either. We weren't allowed to have any records of the meetings and their locations anywhere. Everything is so secretive that it will be hard to pinpoint anything."

"You're smarter than you look. And you're right. If Eclipse keeps everything under wraps so much that he even tries to prevent you from seeing other Aka Sora members, aside from meetings, this will prove to be a difficult task indeed. Do you have any way that you could contact him?" Tsuki started to actually gain some respect for this guy, Aka Sora or not. He was much smarter than he seemed and had a decent knowledge of how law enforcement went.

"We only have an emergency beeper." he pulled something out of his inside jacket pocket and continued speaking. "It's a small device that somehow contacts Eclipse and lets him know that I need to be contacted straight away. I've never had to use it before, but I know that you have to press the centre button three times for it to work and then he calls your cell phone from a private number."

Ame's voice sounded in her ear. "Tsuki. We could get Hetoshi to tell Eclipse that he's being chased by the police and ask him to direct him to a safe location. That way we might be able to trace the phone call."

"But he'd probably expect that the police would try something like that. We could say that he's being chased by a former client that way the police don't have to be involved at all. They might have a way to listen to the police radio and it would have to come up on that if a chase were to start." L commented off-handedly, and Tsuki nodded in agreement subconsciously after hearing Taiyou order them to start immediately.

"Okay. Hetoshi. What we're going to do is put you in a car, and you're going to drive a bit out of the city and use the emergency beeper. When Eclipse contacts you, say that you're being chased by a former client and ask him to point you in the direction of a safe location near by. If were lucky, we might be able to get a trace on the phone call. We'll begin the operation in one hour. I can't let you leave this room, but I'll have someone bring you a glass of water." Tsuki informed him, and he nodded in response, understanding her position and watched her as she walked out of the room, shutting and locking the door behind her.

She briskly walked back towards the elevator and went up to the appropriate level. The doors opened and she swiped her clearance card in the slot next to the two big metal doors that opened, giving her entry into the office. Taiyou was the first one to speak.

"Nicely done. You can change in my office." he congratulated her and nodded once in respect, glad to see that she didn't lose her grip and end up ruining the operation.

After she came back out, L felt slightly disappointed about the change of clothing but didn't allow it to show on his face. He was just glad that she was alright and that Hetoshi was willing to cooperate. That was certainly a huge stroke of luck in a case like this where it had taken them so long just to get this far, but having such a lead now almost made up for all the wasted time.

"So, where do you think we should get him to page Eclipse?" Kumo asked, starting off the strategic planning conversation.

"In the vague direction of his home would be the easiest." Ame offered, wondering whether his suggestion would be a bit too obvious, or maybe not complex enough.

"No, because his home is supposed to be a secure location. Eclipse would make sure of that. There would be no chance of threats near his home." Taiyou answered first, after a moment's silence.

"I think that basing it from near his home wouldn't be a bad idea, as if to say he was getting chased straight after coming out of his home, but I think that if a former client wouldn't all of a sudden try to do that, especially when he probably wouldn't have been catering for much aside the Aka Sora of late. Maybe close to the left edge of town, near all those older, traditional buildings." L chewed his thumb after finishing his train of thought.

"That could work. It's a mostly residential area, without many big warehouses that Eclipse could consider 'a safe location'. All I'm hoping for is that, maybe, just maybe, because Hetoshi supplies his weapons that he'll send him to his location and use his guards to take care of whoever is tailing him." Tsuki agreed, thinking that it couldn't hurt, especially when they had no idea where this guy would be.

"To make it legitimate, we'll need someone to actually follow him. Tsuki, you're out of the question since he might have access to the camera and wiretaps in Hetoshi's house and even with a disguise, it's too much to risk. Ame, would you oblige?" Taiyou got up and rummaged through a draw for several moments before pulling out two sets of keys.

He handed them both to Ame and Kumo grabbed surveillance equipment, microphones and earpieces for him and Hetoshi to use while they were on the run and everyone silently wished them luck as Ame left the office and headed downstairs to the interrogation room that Hetoshi was in. Before they left the room, Ame set up their personal cameras, microphones and earpieces and tested them out, checking that they worked fine.

When all the gear was cleared for use, it was approximately an hour since they had decided on this plan and both Hetoshi and Ame headed for the underground car park and got in the each appropriate car, and Hetoshi drove out first, Ame following behind him. It's not like they trusted Hetoshi completely yet, but everyone usually believed someone if Tsuki felt it okay to believe what they were saying.

She had dealt with pathological liars, psychopaths, sociopaths and whatever else you could think of. They even had to get information from a professional poker player that had stolen several large amounts of money, who very nearly fooled Tsuki at one point, before she just scared him into telling her the truth.

They would keep a very close eye on Hetoshi, and since Ame was right behind him, it wouldn't be easy to get away, and even if he did, all the Sora Ops vehicles had tracking devices wired into them, and they couldn't be disabled unless you completely pulled apart the engine and not many people have the time and talent to do that whilst trying to escape from a special agent who had trained for many years to not let people get away from them.

It seemed that this stroke of luck was coming together well, and all they'd have to do is wait and find out to see that if their wish of Eclipse deciding to lead Hetoshi to his location would come true. Tsuki quite often didn't bother with things like hope and all that, believing that most things came down to how you went about solving the problem, or catching the criminal, not things like luck or chance. If you made a flawless enough plan, then nothing would stop it from working.

Right now, Tsuki, Ame, Kumo, Taiyou, Watari and L just hoped that this simple and thrown-together plan would be their salvation...


	12. The Luminosity

**Chapter 12 – The Luminosity**

Hetoshi and Ame were currently driving towards the outer part of town that the team had agreed on, and as they sat and waited for them to arrive in that area, Taiyou wondered if this plan would work. Usually he would get a feeling that it would go one way or the other while discussing the idea, but this time his subconscious instinct gained through years and years of experience couldn't decide.

It was the same with Tsuki. They had no other option but to take the first idea and run with it. Anything to stop more needless murders and crimes. They had to act as quick as possible too, because it was only a matter of time before Eclipse found out about Hetoshi's disappearance.

More than likely, there were a few Aka Sora at the birthday party, whether Hetoshi knew about them being there or not, or at the very least Eclipse might have someone watching the surveillance cameras, maybe he might even be watching them himself, making sure that everything went according, and trying to prevent such events like the one they were staging from occurring.

A few minutes of tense waiting later, Ame told them that he could start to see all the older, more traditional houses and asked if it was time to start the operation. Kumo confirmed their location and Taiyou gave the order for Hetoshi to use the emergency beeper.

"Pressing the beeper three times, in three...two...one." Hetoshi spoke seriously, counting down until things got really serious and everyone heard the tiny clicking and beeping sound coming from the small device thrice times before it went silent.

The sound of the car's revving engines and other cars on the road, the hum, beep and click of the computers, and all the other sounds of the night seemed to fade out into silence, as if they all fell into a half-asleep, half-awake dream state and only one thing could snap them out of it; the sound of Hetoshi's mobile phone ringing.

What was roughly ten seconds never seemed so long, and salvation seemed nigh when the musical tone of the mobile began to sound and everyone let out the breath they had all been unconsciously holding in anticipation.

The middle aged man, still dressed in a white suit, even though it was a bit dirtier than when he put it on several hours ago, answered the call and put the phone on loudspeaker, mostly because he needed the rest of the team to hear the conversation, and also to free his hands up for driving, since Ame was definitely making this seem as real as possible.

"...Is there a problem, Gin?" a blank, emotionless voice sounded through the phone's speaker, sounding a bit static at first, but then cleared up momentarily. There was nothing but silence in the background on the other end, and it made things seem so much more creepy.

"I'm being chased. Since it's dark, I can't see very clearly, but I think it's a former client who's been after me for ages. Can you direct me to somewhere safe?" Hetoshi said simply, genuinely sounding a bit flustered because of Ame's tailgating him and he was actually getting a bit nervous over it.

"...take the next right. Head down the road for approximately three kilometres and then turn right again. Follow that road until you see a warehouse on the right side of the road. Go there and use your mask. Page me again if you must." the man known as Eclipse hung up the phone and all went silent for a moment and everyone seemed to come out of their little trances simultaneously.

"Damn it!" Kumo exclaimed loudly, making Hetoshi jump, still being a bit nervous over Ame's tailing him so closely, and also just talking to Eclipse made his blood curdle slightly. "I couldn't narrow it down to any smaller than a few kilometres. What I got though, even though I've narrowed it down, makes it more difficult. It's an area about 45 minutes from our location and it's just full of large blocks of land with fancy, rich people houses on them."

"Which will make it almost impossible for us to do a sweep of the area without being detected because of all the security systems that will undoubtedly be set up. And we could get around most of them, but it would be silly to risk exposing the operation by trying to search the area." Taiyou finished Kumo's thought for him, and exhaled in what could almost be considered a sigh.

"Let's just keep an eye on the are and look out for any suspicious behaviour. Clearly Eclipse isn't at the warehouse, but in the mean time, we have to keep our minds on this warehouse for the moment. There might be something there that we can use." Tsuki sort of chastised them all, and kept her head down, looking at the computer monitor in front of her that was currently split and showing both Ame's car camera and Hetoshi's car camera on the bottom.

L noticed Tsuki had a very tense posture, and had seen her stiffen quite perceptibly and possibly even shake slightly when Eclipse first started to speak. Also, since he could see her face, even if it was mostly covered by her cloth mask, he could still see the far-off look in her slightly widened blue eyes, as if she had just realised something, but he doubted it. It was more than likely that she was just in shock about finally hearing the voice of their enemy.

Her enemy, who had directed contributed to the death of many innocent people, people who were simply doing their jobs and got killed for it. Not to mention Hoshi, who was still always on their minds and in their hearts.

"Hetoshi, what does he mean by 'use your mask'?" she asked, breaking the silence, still not looking up from her lap.

"Well, as I said before, we all wear masks when we have meetings to prevent revealing our identities, so I presume that there will be other Aka Sora members there. We all have to carry around our masks with us, wherever we go in case something like this happens, or a meeting is called out of the blue." he answered, knowing that the inside of his jacket pocket held the mask he was speaking about.

"Okay. When you get there, Ame will be a few minutes behind you, just going slowly. You'll have three minutes to get in there, figure out what's going on and let us know. Do _not_ let us down...Hetoshi" Tsuki lifted her head up and narrowed her eyes at Hetoshi's half of the computer screen. "Ame slow up and let Hetoshi lose you."

Everyone went quiet and Ame slowed up a bit, but made it look like he was still trying to keep up with Hetoshi, and a few moments later, an intersection with a few cars going through it allowed the perfect timing for Hetoshi to quickly slip through and for Ame to get stuck waiting for a chance to go through and 'lose' Hetoshi.

Ame cruised along slowly after he was far enough away to have considered Hetoshi's trail gone cold and continued along the route that Eclipse had said to take. With Kumo's help, they timed it perfectly so Ame would be several minutes behind, but close enough to race to the warehouse if need be.

Hetoshi turned into the open gate at the warehouse and drove around the back where he would be out of sight from the road and parked. Everyone saw from the car camera that there was another car just a few metres away, and Hetoshi tried to see if there was anyone in it, but Tsuki told him not to get too close, and to just go inside the warehouse.

The man was scared, but determined and he made his way to the small side door which was open and he could see light filtering out from inside the large construction and he pulled out his mask and put it on while approaching the door.

Tsuki's blood stilled from the silence and anticipation and Hetoshi gave the metal door a quick knock just to alert the people inside of another presence. They both snapped their heads in his direction and their muscles tensed reflexively, but they relaxed after seeing the silver mask covering Hetoshi's face.

"I can only see two men. They're both wearing Aka Sora masks, but they aren't ones like mine. They're just painted grey. That means they're just low ranking members. They just do what their told." Hetoshi whispered as quietly as he could while still making it coherent.

"Gin. Eclipse told us you were coming. You are here to inspect the shipment?" one of them said, and turned towards Hetoshi, gave a small bow and the other did the same a second later.

"Go with it." L commented simply, assuming that Eclipse didn't let the two know that 'Gin' was being chased.

"Yes, I am." 'Gin' responded with an air of confidence that he didn't really feel at the moment.

"Well, your workshop gave us three boxes. One with the special kunai and the other two are just regular shuriken." the other man opened up all three boxes and showed his boss the collection of weapons and Hetoshi played the part of inspecting them and nodding when he deemed the acceptable.

"Ame. I'm sure you can handle these two on your own. Capture them as soon as you get there." Tsuki ordered quietly not wanting to distract Hetoshi if she could help it.

"You've never come to inspect them before. Why now, if I may ask, Gin." the first man asked, his voice sounding confused, but curious.

"It would usually be done before they leave my workshop, but I have been busy. Have you two been given this job permanently?" Hetoshi inquired, just trying to get any information they could for the team.

"Yes, sir. We have." they both answered in unison.

"Tell them you'll be inspecting again next week and figure out what time to get there." L spoke up for the first time in a long time, and caught everyone's attention momentarily before they looked back to their computer screens.

"I will also be inspecting the next one since I have other duties to attend to and I won't be able to do it until it gets here. What time exactly will you be bringing it here?" he looked between both men, waiting for an answer.

"We got here about half an hour ago, and we'll get here at the same time next week." the second one said with a single nod to his superior.

"I'm just pulling up now." Ame whispered and Hetoshi kept his composure and gave no sign of being anxious.

Ame parked a little down the road from the warehouse, underneath a tree where it was just dark enough for the car to be nearly impossible to see. He stealthily moved towards the warehouse, making sure to be as silent as possible, and to keep an ear out on the radio, just in case the two Aka Sora suspected something.

Hetoshi managed to keep the two distracted until just like a good Sora Ops agent should, Ame infiltrated the warehouse and incapacitated them with senbon before they even realised he was there. Those two certainly were only cannon fodder.

"Done. We'll be back as soon as we can."

"Good job. Make sure that they don't wake up until you get back." Taiyou reminded them, and listened as both men dragged the two Aka Sora to Ame's car, stripped them of their weapons, beepers and anything else they had on them, and drive off into the night...

* * *

They got back from the warehouse and the two Aka Sora were placed in two separate interrogation rooms. Ame had used a tranquillising senbon on both of them, and the team sat in waiting for them both to wake up. Within around 30 minutes, they started to stir, and started freaking out, not knowing where they were, or how they got there. In fact, neither of them remembered even leaving the warehouse.

Now, it was Tsuki's time to shine.

She made her way down to the interrogation rooms, and entered the first, startling the Aka Sora sitting in the seat with his hands tied behind his back. She strolled over, and removed his mask then as per usual, Tsuki sat down, and glared at the person over the other side of the table, gauging their reactions.

"Do you who I am?" she asked abruptly, making him flinch a little.

"N-no." he replied, becoming more unnerved as the woman just sat there, staring at him through the two eye-holes in her mask. Slowly, as he looked her over, she did become more and more familiar to him. His gaze fell on the white crescent moon on her mask, and it clicked with him. He did know who this woman was, and if he was right, he was in deep shit.

"Wait...you aren't... _her_...are you?" he asked in a whisper, absolutely stunned at the prospect of this woman being the one he'd heard so much about.

"Her? What do you mean by that?" Tsuki questioned, quite sure that he knew exactly who she was.

"The one we've been told about...the woman who is darker than shadow, who is quieter than silence, who is faster than time and stronger than the world...Tsuki." he answered with an awed, yet frightened voice.

Tsuki resisted the urge to smirk and chuckle at his words. She was actually rather fond of the description he gave. It was rather flattering, and she presumed that he heard it from Eclipse. An exaggeration, it most certainly was, but it was very amusing nonetheless.

"Did Eclipse tell you that?" she asked, allowing her voice to seem a little sardonic.

"It is you. H-how did you capture me?" he said, now being utterly shocked, and the fright in his voice had almost doubled.

"You didn't answer my question." Tsuki reminded him quietly, but firmly.

"Eclipse? I-I don't know what you mean. Is that a person?" he answered with a shaky voice. He was a terrible liar.

"There is no point in lying to me. Maybe Eclipse should have added to his little description that I can tell exactly what you are feeling at any given point in time with one glance. Now, tell me. How long have you been in the Aka Sora?"

"What is the Aka Sora? I really don't know what you mean."

Tsuki was having trouble keeping herself detained, but if this guy kept playing dumb, she would undoubtedly have to scare him into telling her what she wanted to know. In fact, she decided to do that anyway. A much easier approach than asking him over and over again. She smashed her fist down on the cold, metal table in front of her, scaring the hell out of the guy and even giving L a bit of a fright back in the office upstairs.

"I believe I said that there was no point in lying to me. We captured you because we have your boss, Gin. He is cooperating with us, because he knows that the Aka Sora do not stand a chance against the Sora Ops. Against me. You best do the same." Tsuki hissed at him, leaning over the table and glaring full strength at him.

"Now, I'll ask you again. How long have you been in the Aka Sora?" her voice low and filled with venom.

"I told you, I don't know what the Aka Sora is!" he exclaimed loudly, but it was such a terrible lie.

That was it. Tsuki was around the other side of the table, and her hand was tightly constricting the man's throat before he could even have had the time for his brain to register to blink, and fear filled his eyes while he desperately tried to continue breathing and struggle from her grasp, although it was futile. Her hand, small it may be, had a grip like steel.

"A month." he managed to wheeze out.

Her grip lessened considerably. "Much better. How did you join?"

"A masked man broke into my house and told me that my father had been killed because of the Sora Ops' incompetence and that I should want revenge and I accepted."

"What do you know of their plans, or goals?"

"I think that Eclipse wants the Sora Ops completely destroyed. You especially. Aside from that, I don't know much. I'm not very high up. All I do is transport weapons with the other guy."

"Do you have any idea of Eclipse's real identity?"

"No. No one knows. Not even Gin. Eclipse doesn't tell anyone anything unless he has to. I've only met him once before, after I accepted to join the Aka Sora. I was taken to this weird place with all traditional Japanese buildings and he thanked me for joining and told me a little about what the Aka Sora will do. That's all I know."

Tsuki removed her hand from around his neck, and was silent for a moment. "That wasn't so hard now, was it?" she asked rhetorically, not waiting for his answer, opened the door, and shut it behind her.

So far, they hadn't gotten much. She hadn't expected to get so much so soon, but she really just wanted these guys out of Eclipse's reach for the moment. The less Aka Sora around there were when the Sora Ops eventually made their final stand against them, the better. And Tsuki had a feeling that that time would come soon enough.

She opened the door to the second interrogation room and took off the Aka Sora member's mask before sitting on the table, just next to his seat. It was rather amusing to see the other one so thrown off after finding out who she was, so she decided to make things easier and tell him straight off. Luckily, he set her up perfectly to tell him who she was.

"Who are you?" he asked, sounding a little more confident that he looked, but she did commend him on his courageous glare.

"Who am I? I believe it's been said that I'm the one who is darker than shadow, who is quieter than silence, who is faster than time and stronger than the world. Something like that." she answered his question quietly and slowly, dragging it out and thoroughly enjoying the slow widening of his eyes as he recognised the description.

"Tsuki...But how?"

"We have Gin. He is cooperating with us because he knows that the Aka Sora will lose, and he's smart enough to be on the winning side. Now, if you answer my questions truthfully, this will be much easier."

Fortunately, he seemed to accept her words, and nodded slowly in agreement, reluctantly so, but she still got what she wanted. As a reward, she used a kunai to cut the bonds around his wrists, and he rubbed them unconsciously after he realised he was free.

"What do you want to know?" he asked knowing that there wasn't much point in being resistant when he was in a soundproofed room with the only person Eclipse seemed to fear and had said so himself that he wasn't absent of fear when mentioning her.

"How long have you been in the Aka Sora?"

"Um, a masked man broke into my house about a month ago, and I knew that if I didn't accept, he probably would have killed me, so I accepted."

"What did the masked man say?"

"He told me that my sister who had died a few years ago was killed because the Sora Ops didn't do their jobs properly and happily allowed the death of a human being, which was my sister, just to catch their man. I didn't really believe him at first, but I do know that my sister was kidnapped and found dead about 4 years ago, and the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. He said that I should want revenge."

"So you accepted on the premise of getting revenge?"

"No. I don't believe that killing as many people as I know the Aka Sora have is revenge. I know the man responsible for my sister's death is still alive, and I'd only want him dead, no one else. I'm sure that the police wouldn't just let my sister die to catch a criminal."

"You are correct. The Sora Ops prides themselves of being three steps ahead of every criminal we are trying to catch. There are no needless deaths in our operations. However, I am not sure if the Sora Ops covered that particular case. But anyway, what do you know of the Aka Sora's goals?"

"Not very much. We aren't told anything unless it involves us directly. The only thing I know is that what I do eventually links to people dying. I don't like that, but what choice do I have? They'd kill me if I tried to leave. There would be no hiding from Eclipse. He'd have me killed without a second thought. He knows that I'm not loyal to him. He has people that obey his every word. I don't know why he needed me."

"I believe that he plans to use you as nothing more than cannon fodder when the final stand is made. But don't worry, you'll be stuck here for a while." Tsuki got up from sitting on the table and walked around towards the door before she remembered what the other guy had said to her.

"One more thing...Where were you taken once you had accepted the offer to join?"

"I'm not sure where it was because I was blindfolded on the way there. I just remember the blindfold being taken off when I was standing in front of Eclipse. It was in this large room and it was a really traditional Japanese place. One of the shoji screens were open and I could see more traditional buildings like it. It must have been a huge place." he answered, his eyes looking down and to the right, recalling the memory first hand.

After a quick moment of contemplation, she nodded to him in thanks, shut the door and headed upstairs to the main office where everyone was discussing the information that they had gotten from the two men. L spoke to her first.

"Ah, Tsuki. Hetoshi has told us that he was also taken to this traditional Japanese building when he accepted the Aka Sora's offer to join them."

"Why did you not mention this before?" Tsuki asked Hetoshi harshly.

"I didn't think it was very relevant since I figured that he would never stay in the same place for very long." he answered, cowering back a little, not wanting to be the victim of Tsuki's wrath.

"You are probably right. But you should have told us anyway. Is there anything else you can think of, relevant or not?" she asked, only easing up her tone a little.

"Nothing off the top of my head."

"Well, you let me know if you think of something...Kumo, I presume you are already searching for nearby large traditional Japanese buildings?" she turned towards the computer screen nearest her, knowing Kumo's head was right behind it, as per usual.

"Yep. I haven't found much so far, but so far I'm looking in the area where we traced Eclipse's location to." he answered popping his head to the side of the screen for a moment to look at her while he was speaking to her.

"Okay. How long will it take?"

"A while. The area that I narrowed it down to is pretty big, and the system has to go slowly to check everything out properly, so it'll be a while before we get results." he shrugged in apology and disappeared behind the computer screen to continue with his search.

She closed her eyes, and sighed long and quietly. Her frustration levels were through the roof and she was sure that if they didn't get something soon, she was going to go insane. Taiyou could sense that his best agent was starting to lose her grip on the strangle-hold she had on her anger over all of this Aka Sora stuff and he had been noticed that everyone else was struggling a bit too.

"Alright everyone! That's enough for today. You all need some rest, so get out of here, and be back at 10.30AM sharp tomorrow...actually, today." he said loudly and forcefully, not really trying to give any the option to argue, but he knew that Tsuki would even though she'd probably end up falling asleep in her seat if she sat there long enough.

"Taiyou, we are getting to close now to take breaks to rest. You can all go, I'll stay and keep an eye on the search." she looked at the ceiling with her arms crossed and glared, as if cursing the heavens themselves.

"No. We are _all_ going to get some rest. Kumo said the search will take a while, so it's better off that we get some rest, and come back when we are closer to 100%. We're no good to the case being dead tired and barely able to function. Just do what I say, Tsuki. For fuck's sake." Taiyou pleaded with her, and she continued glaring at the ceiling for a long moment before emitting a low, but quick growl of resignation.

"Fine. But I'll be here, in this office, in my seat at exactly 10.30AM in the morning." she grumbled and grabbed her motorbike helmet off her desk, and walked out of the office before anyone could say anything, so unfortunately, she missed out on L's message.

"Ah, before the rest of you go. I have prepared a secure location for us all to be in a daily basis." he paused to type on his laptop for a moment and then turn it around so everyone could see the picture of the large building currently on screen. "There are rooms to sleep in and facilities available for everyone."

"Whoa. That's insane! It's huge! Where is it?" Ame asked with awe at the image of the place that they would apparently be staying in from now on.

"About 10 minutes out of town. Should I inform Tsuki so she can go there?" L inquired, wondering whether it was worth the effort or not.

"Nah, I wouldn't bother. She'll probably just crack the shits. Just let her know at about 10AM tomorrow." Kumo suggested casually, knowing that there wasn't much point in trying to let her know now that she'd probably already be half-way home.

L was starting to get a bit worried about Tsuki. He had also noticed that she was starting to lose her grip and her anger was gradually starting to become more and more prominent of late. Even her blank stares were glinting with anger and stress nowadays. The marks in the large wooden dartboard on the office wall had doubled, and it looked like the bullseye couldn't even be used any more because it was worn away so bad.

She was starting to worry him. Her volatility always concerned him, but it was only recently that she was starting to get out of control. It was almost like she was a different person than the one he had met all those weeks ago.

The only problem was, is that this sudden onslaught of volatility and unpredictable behaviour from her only made her more interesting to him. He was still incredibly attracted to her, and he was kind of glad for Hetoshi's presence, because if he wasn't there then she wouldn't have to wear the Sora Ops mask, meaning that he would be able to see her stunning blue eyes even more prominently.

It seemed that no matter how she acted, how spontaneous, or scheduled she was, angry or calm, she still managed to enamour him, which in itself was a feat the young man had thought impossible, especially since he barely had any female interaction at all...like ever. It was odd enough that he had actually been...aroused by her appearance, but even more far-fetched that he occasionally found himself wondering if she ever thought about him in a romantic or intimate way.

At first, these thoughts had shocked him to no end, but after the slow progression of coming to terms with what he was thinking and feeling, he had gotten to the point where they didn't phase him enough for it to actually show externally, maybe aside from a slight dilation of his pupils which no one seemed to notice.

He was certain that Kumo knew what was going on inside his head, and he had almost asked the veteran Sora Ops agent about it, but the almost-conversation was interrupted by Taiyou coming back in the main office from a meeting with the ICPO. So, for now, he would just stay in the dark, until a more opportune moment arose.

While everyone else was packing up and getting ready to leave, L's cell phone began to ring. All eyes were on him as he pulled it out of his pocket, looked at the screen and mumbled 'Tsuki' to himself before flipping open the contraption and holding it a few centimetres away from his ear with only his thumb and pointer finger as if he didn't even want it anywhere near him.

"My house was burnt down...it was them."


	13. The Winter-Halo

**Chapter 13 – The Winter-Halo**

"My house burnt down...it was them." Tsuki said with a very confused voice, and if he wasn't mistaken, there may have been a touch a fear somewhere amongst it.

"I will text you an address. Please go there immediately." he commanded in the form of a polite request, as per usual, and for some reason, his voice just put Tsuki's mind at ease. He seemed like he was concerned for her, and that he would make her feel better when she got there. "I will bring Hisuiro for you." he added in a quiet voice, and she nearly broke right there.

Everything to do with this case was absolutely killing her, physically, mentally and psychologically, and even though they were all stressed, exhausted, frustrated, and more than likely in pretty terrible shape medically, the way he spoke to her just seemed like all the exhaustion in the world couldn't stop him from helping her out and putting her mind at ease.

With a deep breath, she nodded, made a small sound – that was much weaker than she wanted it to be – and hung up the phone. She put her helmet back on her head, did it up and started the bike after receiving L's text and getting her bearings. From where she was down the street, she could seem the smoking ruins of her house, and her several neighbours standing out the front, looking worried, as well as the fire fighters who were starting the clean up.

Taiyou would sort the rest out and he probably was already taking measures to contain the incident, so she didn't bother worrying about it. She took one last look at the large red 'Sora' kanji painted on her driveway, put the visor down on her helmet and skidded off in the direction of the address L had given her. She nearly got lost after making a wrong turn, but eventually got back on the right track and found the building a few minutes later.

It was at least four storeys, with so many windows and an underground car park. She drove in and parked nearest to the door, where L just happened to be waiting for her, much to her surprise. She was still shaken up, and her breathing was slightly irregular and shallow, so she took it slowly as she got off the bike, and started undoing her helmet.

Silently, L just watched her with big, dark eyes with worry floating around in them, and even though she could tell it took him a lot of effort to do, he tried to erase the fatigue that was even getting to him from his face and his body language the best he could – which would never cut it with her as the person looking at him – and he did something so simple.

He smiled.

Just as she had taken off her helmet, he noticed the cloth mask had slipped down, revealing her face. If Taiyou or Kumo had looked at her, they would have recognised the expression scarily well, Taiyou in particular, having seen it twice before. Unfortunately, Ame wasn't around early enough to see the second of two times that this expression had been on her face in her life time, and neither had L.

But L had taken enough notice of her since he had met her to know that right now, she was just a young adult girl, who was going through one of the toughest experiences in her life, and at the moment, she was at her breaking point.

Things were getting too much for everyone, but Tsuki seemed to take it more personally than everyone else, as if she was thinking that it was her fault, her own incompetence as a Sora Ops agent that was stopping her from solving this case and catching the Aka Sora already.

She looked like she was a combination of worried, exhausted, angry, and the one thing he never thought he'd see in her icy blue eyes; fear. Tsuki, the second highest commanding agent of the Sora Ops, the agent who had been working for the Sora Ops since she was a child, and had caught countless dangerous criminals and had undoubtedly saved the lives of so many people without them ever knowing it.

He was very scared himself, since it wasn't every day that you encountered a case like this. Where the criminals never slipped up, and were able to hide themselves flawlessly, and did everything opposite to what the police and justice enforcement agencies expect. But he had forgotten his own fear at the sight of hers.

Slowly, she walked over towards him, intent on going through the door, but he didn't move out of her way. In fact, he leaned to one side a little to further block her path. The black-haired woman knew that if she looked at him, and saw the signs of concern on his face, that she'd probably feel even more pathetic, so she refused to do that just yet. They were standing only a foot from each other, and she could just feel his body heat radiating like her own.

A moment later, he took his pale, long-fingered hands from the pockets of his blue jeans that he wore day in and day out, and lifted his arms cautiously, so as to not alarm her. He reached out and put his arms around her shoulders, and stepped forward a little to close the small gap between their bodies.

Normally, Tsuki would have probably punched whoever was trying to hug her in the gut, winded them and left them there, coughing and gasping for air on the ground. But this time, she just couldn't gather any anger at him for trying to comfort her, she just couldn't manage lifting her arm up, pulling it back and send it launching into his flat stomach. She just couldn't do anything but accept his comfort right now.

So she did.

She let him embrace her, awkwardly, but still an embrace and eventually she felt the need to return it. So she did that as well. Just as awkwardly, if not more so, she lifted her own, much smaller arms up and wrapped them around his waist, enjoying the feeling of allowing herself to show a bit of humility.

They stood there for a few more seconds and their grips on each other tightened as if they were letting all their pent up feelings out by holding each other as close as possible. Tsuki began to shake slightly and L's allowed his hand to glide up and down her back, trying to comfort her, and her hands fisted in his white shirt, as she stood there, shaking.

"I..." she tried to speak, but it wasn't coming out, just for the entire shock of what she was trying to say, as if her unconscious mind still didn't want to admit it to itself. "I'm...I'm scared." she managed to get out mostly coherently.

L's only response was to hold her tighter again, and put a hand around the back of her head and she tried so hard to compose herself again, but for the moment, it just wasn't going to happen. L knew that she wasn't scared of getting hurt, or dying. She was scared that she might lose the only family she had, the Sora Ops, she was scared that the Aka Sora would continue to hurt and kill people and achieve their goal.

Even though she had only said two words, those two words meant more than even Tsuki herself realised. After a few minutes, the shaking stopped and she evened out her own breathing, inhaling and exhaling as deep as she could as she gradually calmed down.

L didn't ease up his grip until she shifted her weight a little and began to pull back. He really didn't want to let her go already, but he wouldn't force her to stay in his hold (not that he could) and he went to drop his arms completely, when she just looked up at him instead of moving out of his grasp completely.

Her brow was pulled together in an upset looking frown and she was chewing on her bottom lip, but still, she stared directly into his eyes as they idly stood there. Neither of them let go, and neither of them broke the stares that were revealing their minds deepest truths.

They were both scared of what the Aka Sora could do, how easily they could manage to slip through their fingers without them even knowing it, and how Eclipse's intelligence and precaution taking almost matched Tsuki's.

Both of them had solved and experienced enough cases in their lifetimes to know when things were beginning to wrap up, the leads followed, the criminals captured and necessary information received. It was just the instinctual feeling that they both had in their gut. And Tsuki knew well enough the the Aka Sora weren't going to go down without a fight that would be spoken of for many years to come, no matter what side won.

Tsuki was scared that Eclipse would outsmart her, outmanoeuvre her and take the victory for himself. She was afraid that she would lose her two other agents and closest friends like she already had Hoshi, and Arashi, both of which she would never forget. Arashi in particular, since he had basically sacrificed himself to save her.

She watched L's face and even as he moved it closer to her own, she did not move. L's hand that was currently around the back of her head came to sit under her chin and lift her head a little, since he was a fair bit taller than her. As the gap continued to close, Tsuki did not move away or flinch, she just stood there, wondering if this was actually happening.

As his lips gently brushed against hers, both their eyes closed but snapped open at the sound of Tsuki's cell phone ringing. Expressions went completely deadpan, and Tsuki moved back just enough to reach into her pocket and lift out the noise-making device.

"Hey, are you here yet? Ryuzaki's waiting for you at the underground door." Kumo's voice was heard by both of them, and Tsuki almost smirked at his last words, knowing _quite_ well already that Ryuzaki was at the door.

"Yes, I only just pulled up. I can see him, so I'll be in soon." she replied, sounding genuinely annoyed, which L couldn't resist smirking at.

"We better go in." Tsuki said quietly, and tilted her head in gesture of going through the door, and she gave him a barely there smile as he put his hand out as if to say 'Ladies first'.

As she walked in, L turned around and just saw out the very small window in the break of the concrete walls, the moon. It had a ring of light around it, but it was so faint that he could only just see it. A small revelation hit him, and a corner of his mouth turned upwards at the symbolism of himself being the ring, and Tsuki being the moon itself. After a moment, he followed Tsuki through the door.

They both headed upstairs, not really looking at each other out of shyness, but everything else was forgotten as they got up to the office floor, where Kumo, Ame, Taiyou, and Watari were all waiting. There were computers, TV's and large screens everywhere as well as couches, comfortable seats and large desks with drawers, all ready to be worked at.

Tsuki actually huffed because she was impressed with the set-up and only wished that the Sora Ops headquarters was big enough to allow for this kind of technology to be used by them. Watari got everything ready for them to start working, and they got down to it after having a well-deserved hot meal that Watari had prepared for them. Tsuki looked at news articles on the internet, Ame watching the news channel on the TV, Kumo still running the check for the traditional Japanese buildings, and L was studying the case files.

Taiyou was helping out everyone and doing a bit of his other work, occasionally taking phone calls and writing things down. Apparently, Hetoshi was also here, but just for precautions sake, he was locked up in one of the bedrooms and was looking through a bunch of old newspapers that Watari had picked up for them.

For several hours, they continued working, all of them either reading or watching something and there was a few times where someone thought they might have found something, and within moments, everyone (except Hetoshi, of course) would be crowding around the TV, or the computer and discussing or arguing why they thought it was or was not something relevant to the case.

Eventually though, it would be decided that it wasn't relevant and everyone would get back to whatever they were doing earlier. The only sounds heard was the sound of someone yawning or sighing TV Ame was watching, clicking and scrolling of mouses, the occasional beep of the computers and the constant hum of all the electrical devices being used.

That was until Tsuki thought that she had something.

"Guys...come take a look at this." she said, reading the article on a very wealthy old man who had died several months ago and he was the owner of a large block of land that had many traditional Japanese building on it that he had restored because of his passion for all things traditional.

"I think you might actually be onto something here." Ame nodded with a small smile on his face that grew more and more as he read through the article.

"Apparently it was supposed to be open to the public, kind of like a museum or something, but it closed down when he died." Kumo read out loud and the smile on his face also suggested that he thought it was worth checking out.

"Well, I think that sounds good enough for you to check out." Taiyou agreed, nodding as he read through the article.

"I agree. Please, go and check out this place." L spoke up from his seat which he had gone to sit back in after being satisfied with everyone agreeing that it was worth checking out.

"Alright. We'll wait until we have the cover of darkness, and then Ame and I will go and check it out. There'll be no attacks made on anyone, unless we have to defend ourselves. This will be a basic reconnaissance mission." Tsuki said with finality, and everyone gave a single nod and went back to what they were doing, or began making preparations for the operation tonight.

Even though Tsuki's mind was still all over the place, she took a deep breath, sat back in her chair and mentally prepared herself for what might end up being the break that they had been desperately searching for since day 1.

Her spirits were high, and her motivation was somewhat returning, and she just hoped that luck would be on her side...

* * *

Since they had decided to wait for the cover of darkness, it was the perfect time for everyone to get a really good rest. Even L slept for at least 6 hours, and Tsuki was crashed out for a little over 7 hours before waking up. Her body was much more used to sleeping very deeply when she got to rest, so she didn't need the 12-14 hours that Ame would probably be needing. Kumo enjoyed sleeping for 10 hours, and Taiyou got some sleep, as well as Hetoshi.

Everyone was still asleep when she got up, and she took to showering, changing into a loose pair of shorts, and a small tank top, and feeding Hisuiro, who L as promised, had brought along in him and his enclosure, along with the large frozen rats that she always kept ready for him in the kitchen at headquarters, much to mostly everyone else's disgust.

It still wasn't anywhere near time to start getting ready for the operation, so Tsuki quickly grabbed the large bag from the main room which the weapons that Ame had cleared out from the cupboard and brought along from the headquarters office, and do some training. She noticed that L was sitting in front of his computer, and walked around to speak to him.

"How did you sleep?" she asked politely, making simple conversation. She felt a little shy, but surprisingly, not awkward.

"I slept very well. I hope you did the same." he responded, actually turning his head away from the computer to look at her. He noticed that she wasn't wearing her cloth mask and as per usual, he was finding it hard not to stare.

She nodded before speaking again. "Uh, is there a spare room which I could train in by any chance?"

"Actually, I had a room prepared just for that purpose. Follow me." he got up from his seat and began walking towards the door on the right side of the room. Tsuki followed him, carrying the large bag that weighed at least 45 to 50 kilograms. They went down a floor via a set of stairs and came down to a hallway with a set of double doors halfway down it.

The double doors opened to reveal a massive empty space, and it seemed that L had made this whole floor a large training area. L turned the light on to show that there was tonnes of places to hang up and store various different kinds of weapons. She smirked at the many different sized and styled wooden targets there were, not just on the walls, but in the corners, and on the ceiling.

Her blue eyes darted around the room, looking at all the things L had gotten to put in the room. This was glorious for her at the moment. She hadn't had a good, hard training session in so long and it was time that she got back into it. Even though she doubted it, but she had to be prepared if something like what happened in the hotel they were staying in last occurred.

Just after she finished that thought, she got an idea. She looked to L, who was already looking at her. Straight away, he knew that Tsuki was planning something, and he didn't know whether he should go back to looking over the case files, or just wait and see what she had in mind.

"I think it's time to teach you to defend yourself properly." Tsuki said smoothly and evenly, but the slightly mischievous glint in her eyes suggested that he probably wasn't going to like this all too much.

She gestured for him to walk in the training room and she dropped the weapons bag inside the door, and he did and met her in the middle of the large space. Firstly, she looked at the way he stood, his body size, stature, and build, getting at idea of what kind of styles would suit him best. He was a bit flustered under her gaze, but stood still anyway and watched her eyes look him up and down.

"Alright. First off, I want you to try and hit me. It doesn't matter where, or how you do it, just try it." Tsuki commanded, her confident voice resounding through the room. He nodded in response, and told him to start with a simple 'Go'.

His leg, clad in the blue jeans swung around to attempt kicking her head, but she easily dodged it, and continued to block, counter and dodge every swing of his legs. She deduced as soon as he started that he'd be prominently using his legs, from the way he shifted his weight and she was prepared right off the bat.

Aside that, she was actually rather impressed by him, not expecting him to be able to execute such an odd, but effective style. She told him to stop after a moment, and thought about what she could teach him to help him become a little more capable of being battle-ready.

At first, she helped him correct his kicking style, showing him how to properly shift his weight around, and how to stand whilst kicking at his opponent. His observation and deductive abilities allowed him to pick up on almost anything she explained and demonstrated within a few times of seeing it, and he made sure to take note of every foot movement, every arm movement and every ripple of her muscles.

Soon enough, she was able to move onto punching, which he picked up quickly, and they began sparring and combining the two things he had learned so far. By the end of it, he already had several bruises from where he hadn't moved quick enough and ended up earning a kick to the ribs or legs, or a punch to his gut.

Tsuki moved on after a while, teaching him how to block, dodge and eventually counter the opponent's moves. After he had grasped the basics, she sparred with him, telling him to only dodge and block her movements, whilst searching for the right moment to make his counter attack. Luckily, he did very well, and for the time being, he didn't have any more bruises.

She was very impressed with how quick he was picking everything up, but it seemed that he had already had some sort of combat training, but he probably just put his own twist on anything he learnt, and had pretty much made his own style.

After about 2 hours or so, they had a break, and got something to eat and drink. Tsuki practically force-fed him a sandwich, and banned him from eating cake or most of his sweets for the whole week. Watari was in the kitchen at the time, and his wrinkled face had a smile on it the whole time as he watched in silence while Tsuki literally chased L around the kitchen, eventually catching him and making him eat the sandwich she had made for him.

The old man was very happy to see L smiling more often, and was overjoyed to see him and Tsuki barely containing their laughter as he tried desperately to stop her from feeding him the apple she had in her hand. After a moment, she gracefully leapt over the counter in the middle of the kitchen, pinned him up against the wall and glared at him until he ate the entire apple, aside the core, of course.

L glowered at her, but secretly he had actually enjoyed the sandwich, and the apple she had fed him. But, even more secretly, he had very much enjoyed her pinning him against the wall, and being so close to him. Kumo made his appearance while Tsuki was eating her own food, and greeted the three people already occupying the room, and got his own food before dragging himself back to his computer.

Tsuki and L headed back to the training room, and continued the lessons. Eventually, just after Ame had gotten up about 3 hours later, L was learning much more advanced moves, and being able to mostly hold his ground against her. Something that was immensely impressing Kumo, Ame, and Taiyou, who were all trying to pay attention to what they were doing, but ended up just watching the two elite crime fighters go at it until Tsuki won the upper hand.

When she was satisfied enough with his hand-to-hand combat ability, she got some kunai out of the weapon bag. Kunai and shuriken were the best weapons to learn for any kind of agent like herself, as kunai allowed you to grapple, but also attack from a distance, and shuriken were great because they were small and easy to throw and aim.

She grabbed a few and looked around the room at the location of all the targets. It only took her a few seconds to hit every single bullseye on each target. He stood there, jaw dropped not even noticing that a shuriken had flown right past his head until he inspected each target to see if she had hit the bulls-eyes.

As she collected up each one, she explained the mechanics of using them and began showing him how to throw them properly and eventually he picked up the technique and every now and then he would hit the bullseye on the targets around the room. He was feeling very proud of himself over picking up on so much in such a short time, but as he recalled her hitting all the bulls-eyes within seconds and act like it was no big feat, he knew that it was mostly because of her thorough understanding of how it all worked, and many years of practice.

Kunai were a bit of a change for him, but it was much easier to pick up on throwing them since he'd already learnt how to throw shuriken, but the grappling part was the one that concerned him. Instead of using the sharp metal ones, she grabbed out the wooden ones from the bag, used for the very purpose of teaching.

He didn't really like grappling, but he knew that it was important to at least have an understanding of how to use kunai at a close range proficiently. They continued to spar, and Tsuki continued to teach, L continuing to learn and before too long, he was much too tired to keep going and went upstairs to take a shower and change out of his sweaty clothes, and into some fresh clean ones.

Tsuki decided to train by herself and she quickly setting up and putting away all the weapons in the places designated for them. Ame had brought all the different types of katana that they had and she idly stood, looking at them for a moment before getting a full-length blade to train with as she always did, even though in battle she used a wakizashi, which was shorter than a full-length katana.

It was a simple matter of speed and ability. In training, she used a longer, heavier blade, so that when she used her own blade when fighting, her movements would be so much faster and more easily executed. A few minutes later, after she warmed up a bit, and stretched, she noticed that L had walked back in the room, even though her back was turned to him.

She removed the katana from it's sheath and went through a few basic movements to get used to the size and weight before she began to get into using combinations which looked extremely complicated to L, who just stood there and watched her graceful and slow movements.

Gradually, she used more speed and did more difficult combinations, and eventually she was going as fast as she could, swinging around the katana like a hot knife through butter. After a while, she grabbed her wakizashi, still not paying any attention to the young man watching her curiously inside the doorway. She did the same thing again, starting out slow and getting quicker, and L was amazed at how much faster and more proficient she was with the smaller blade.

Tsuki eventually got tired of training, and smirked ever so slightly at L as she walked past him through the doorway, and jogged upstairs to shower and get clean. Soon, it would be time for them to begin preparations for the mission tonight, and she wanted to make sure that she was completely ready for it.

Roughly twenty minutes later, she came back downstairs, clean and ready to organise how this mission was going to work. Everyone was sitting around a table in the middle of the main room, and Tsuki sat down on the couch, next to Kumo, who gave her a quick smirk as if to say that he knew something she didn't. Taiyou's voice distracted her from questioning him, and they began the discussion now that Tsuki was back.

It was already decided silently that Tsuki and Ame would go on this mission and even though Kumo wouldn't mind going since it was only recon, he knew that the more people they had there, the more likely they'd be found. The brunette man had found a good entrance into the grounds since the walls around the place were huge, and all they'd have to do is go through the back door which you could secretly enter from the block of land behind it.

He showed them a satellite map of where the two blocks came together and bordered off, but he could only show them how the very small shed at the back would allow them to jump the fence of the block of land behind and get to the wall where the back door to where they hoped Eclipse and the other Aka Sora would be.

The place was massive, and it would take them a while to explore most of it, which also meant they'd have to be very careful of any patrolling Aka Sora members. They had already assumed that there would be tonnes of motion sensors, cameras and whatever else on the grounds, so Kumo had brought a device that would hopefully let him hack into the system and let him control the security systems.

Another thing they decided on was the use the Sora Ops masks which had the small cameras in them, therefore allowing them to watch all the footage later on and being able to take note of anything that may be suspicious, also to record any evidence that could be used against the Aka Sora case when they were being prosecuted.

Soon enough, the planning was finished and all they had to do was wait for the cover of darkness to begin...


	14. The Parhelion

**Chapter 14 - The Parhelion**

Night had fallen, and there was stars in the sky, as well as the moon which was half-full and currently had a icy-blue eyed, black-haired, pale-skinned woman staring at it on the roof of the building L had gotten built for them. As her code name, and something that she had always had an odd fascination with, the moon always seemed to draw her attention and calm her before she would depart for a big mission. The natural satellite appeared to have some sort of feeling of a desire to be more, from her perspective, and some people didn't even realise how important it was.

Often, she felt that way, because she was always undercover and her true identity was only currently known to one person in the world; Taiyou. The rest of her team-mates and comrades had no idea if the blue eyes and black hair was her own, and for all they knew, she might be 35 years old. In the Sora Ops, an agent's true identities were only released by Taiyou to the five top agents when they died (usually Tsuki, Kumo, Hoshi, Ame and Arashi, if the positions were filled) and to any lower level agent who placed a request for it, such as someone who had worked very closely with them, and no one was allowed anyone else's identity to know as long as the agents lived.

Taiyou felt that it was a good way for the agents who had passed to give the rest of the team-mates something to think about, someone to honour in their thoughts, someone to have a moment's silence for, someone to bow their heads for, and not just someone with a codename, and a mask. It gave them back their human identity and their personality, which was forcefully taken from them by accepting and doing their job as an agent of the Sora Operatives.

Everyone doing this kind of job became a hardened veteran - especially someone like Tsuki who had been doing it before she had even been alive for a decade - so much so that there wasn't much they hadn't seen or heard about in their line of work. But no matter if someone had only been with the Sora Ops for barely a month, or ten years, they were still given a moment silence in honour of their sacrifice to help make the world a better place, and to help justice prevail.

It was hard work, but as Tsuki continued to look at the distant craters and shadows that currently made up the moon, of which she could only see half, it seemed like her previous exhaustion and lack of motivation, as well as fear had been erased. There was one person, the most unlikely of characters who she could thank for that, and at the moment, said person was crouching on his usual seat next only a few stories below her, stuffing his face with cake, even though she'd banned him from it only a few hours earlier.

She had no idea how L had done it, but he managed to get her through what could have been the straw that broke the seemingly emotionless camel's back. This had taken her by surprise a little, but not as much as it normally would have, just because she had felt the signs coming on from very early in the case and the longer it had dragged on, the more prominent these signs had become.

As she gradually got closer and closer to the point where she'd snap, which had only happened once before in her life, L had been there. Even with just a look after she knew he'd noticed her hands twitching in anger, she had seen in his eyes that he cared about her and even more importantly valued her professional input and talent.

L had done such simple things for her, and without even realising it – she doubted even he knew it – he was able to take her mind off everything. She almost blushed at the memory of what had happened between them at the door when she had arrived at the complex which was only a little while ago. Amongst normal people who were close and had a good, strong bond, something like that wouldn't be so surprising. But amongst two socially retarded people who had forgotten how to feel? Not so common.

But now, as she felt that everything was hopefully coming to a close (only if this place they would be checking out shortly was the real Aka Sora hideout) and it seemed to be the calm before the storm. If all went well, and they discovered evidence of Aka Sora being in this traditional Japanese buildings on the block of land, then they would gather the remaining agents and anyone else they were closely affiliated with that could help them, and capture or kill anyone they could or had to.

Also, she still hadn't completely erased her fear of Eclipse and of his seemingly endless intellect that always managed to match and almost outwit her own. It was hard for her to admit that someone might actually be able to match her, since she had surpassed even Taiyou, who was once known as 'Ghost' because of his insane skill, many years ago.

She felt in the heart she had tried to forget she had, that this mission would turn out with bloodshed, even though she wasn't sure that the Aka Sora were occupying those buildings, but Tsuki had a hunch that they were there, even though it might have just been her wishful thinking. It would be a close call if they were and she hoped that with only her and Ame, that they would be up to the task.

Ame had become an amazing agent with a lot of potential in his short time with the Sora Ops, but he still had a bit too much of a human side, to put it in the simplest way possible. He still had faith that there might be some valid reason that someone stole thousands of dollars or justification for why someone had killed someone else. Over the course of this case though, she had seen that naivety fade away from his eyes, and she was glad and unhappy about it at the same time.

It meant that he was just becoming closer to being as jaded, desensitised and dehumanised as she was. She knew that Kumo had seen it as well, and they both knew that he would make a good agent to replace Tsuki when she eventually left, but it was the fact that they had to stand by and watch yet another person, yet another comrade become just like them. Watch them lose whatever feelings they used to have, whatever happiness and joy they used to feel.

The biggest problem would be that if the Aka Sora were there, Ame would have to step up to the plate, leave his emotions and questions behind and just...destroy them. Unfortunately, Taiyou had given them the orders to kill any Aka Sora on sight, no matter how low they were on the food chain and she hoped that he wouldn't disobey orders because of what they had heard from Hetoshi and the other two men.

It didn't seem like there would be many of them that were fully dedicated to the organisation, going off what they had seen so far of them, but there was no guarantee that they would jump at the chance to get out of there, maybe out of fear of Eclipse or maybe some of them really might have believed that masked man's words and want revenge on the Sora Ops for their 'failure' and whatever other bullshit Eclipse spun them.

If there was one thing that Tsuki found most impressive about Eclipse, it was his ability to spin said bullshit in a way that allowed him to gain a large following. Whether it was by subtle threats and fear that he kept them in line, the fact is, is that they were still obeying his orders and doing exactly as he said.

Hetoshi was a perfect example. When he started his business, all he had wanted to do was create ceremonial, traditional and replica weapons for people who would pay the right price, not to manufacture weapons for criminal groups who threatened him with the death of his wife, and eventually did kill her all so he would stay under their control.

Tsuki continued to think for quite some time until she heard light footsteps behind her. She didn't bother to turn around to look at who it was, because she could already identify them by their significantly obvious scent, which was sugar, sugar and more sugar with a subtle hint of coffee. Therefore, it was L and as he stood next to her and followed her gaze towards the moon, she knew that he was able to read what was going on in her head.

"Are you worried?" he asked so quietly that she wouldn't have heard it if she was standing even half a metre further away from him.

"In a way, yes. I know that there will much bloodshed if they are hiding there, and I don't particularly feel like killing people who may be controlled by Eclipse's words or are so scared of him that they just obey his every word. But, in a way, no since I know that if we do find them, then that will be the end of it and I won't have to worry about them killing more people." she responded in a voice that spoke volumes and he could feel the hesitation in her.

"Let's hope that we find them then." he said simply and his own voice sounded similar to her's before he remembered why he came up here. "Ah, by the way. Kumo said that he will be going with you and I will control everything back here. Taiyou has approved it as well since we have just seen a bit of movement on the grounds and he wants a stronger force there." L explained nonchalantly, trying to hide his slight worry about her since now the suspicion level of the area had increased near ten-fold.

He wanted so much to trust in her abilities and her intelligence, but feelings tended not to listen to rational thought, and just do whatever they wanted and right now, even though he did think that she would be okay, he still couldn't prevent the part of him that he had lost long ago, and only just regained recently, from caring about her, liking her and being terribly fearful for her safety and survival.

The young woman, who was so old in her heart and mind, nodded in response to his news, then sighed long and slow and turned to look at him finally, after they'd just been staring at the moon for a few minutes. Her expression was surprisingly open, something that had been happening more often as of late and he had become increasingly infatuated with her because of this as well. She trusted him enough to let him in even a little bit, and to him, that was all he could ask for from someone like her.

So he moved closer to her hesitantly, expecting her to move away, but instead she shifted slightly towards him and even though they weren't facing each other, they stood close enough so that they could feel each other's body heat radiating off one another, but just far away so that they weren't touching, as if they were afraid that if they did make contact, that then they would have to face all these weird feelings that they had been having, and that would just be too much at the moment.

Tsuki knew that it would be time for them to depart for the mission soon, so she gave him a shadow of a smile before she turned away from him and walked towards the door and he followed suit. A minute later, they were back downstairs, and both Ame and Kumo were arming themselves and Tsuki began to do the same.

She had already been dressed for a while, in her black cargo pants with about 8 pockets in them, and she stuffed everything she could into them and put on her three different holsters, one on her right thigh, holding several kunai, her calf/shin holster that held the special kunai she had been holding onto for a long time on her right leg as well, and her waist holsters, which held two guns, neither of which she had ever used.

Her mesh undershirt was covered by her plain black, long-sleeved shirt made of the lightest and most breathable material possible that had a face mask attached to it and then her tailor-made armoured vest sat on top, and she had more weapons stashed away in that as well as the many hanging off her utility belt. She had decided to take her wakizashi as well, and she fixed that so the hilt was in perfect reach of her right hand if she just reached back and unsheathed it from the scabbard containing it on her back.

Finally, she put on her black, hooded cloak and her earpiece and finished it off with her Sora Ops mask with the camera in it over her face, covering up what was still visible and immediately, she felt ready for battle. Her blue eyes became cold, bottomless pits and L couldn't deny that he was a little scared by the change. Not exactly scared of her, in essence, but scared of the emotionless being she could become at the drop of a hat.

All three agents were ready to go with their cameras and radio contact functioning perfectly. Taiyou, L and Watari were seated in front of three computers, one showing a live satellite feed of the area they were heading to, and the two others showing the feeds from the cameras in the masks. Taiyou stood up and walked to stand in front of his agents, who were lined up and waiting to be dismissed, surprisingly, Tsuki was as well, for the most part.

"Ame, Kumo, do the best you can. I have utmost faith in the both of you and I want to listen to every word that Tsuki says. We are as prepared as we can be, and I just want to be careful and make sure that you do everything you can to take these bastards down. And if either of you find Eclipse...run. Leave him to Tsuki." the middle-aged man said with a commanding voice that never failed to grab attention from anyone who could hear it. He turned to the woman standing a little away from the two other agents and merely nodded his head, as if that was telling her everything that she needed to know.

She nodded back and within another moment, they were gone...

* * *

The three agents were silent in the car ride over, and it felt very odd to Tsuki that Kumo was out in the field, since it had been about a year since he was out with her last time. But this just meant that this mission was all the more dangerous.

Chances were, that if it came down to this battle for life and death between the Sora Operatives and the Aka Sora, then the more man-power the better, but since they were only trying to use this as a reconnaissance mission, three would be more than enough. In fact, Tsuki would usually do this sort of mission alone, but again the possibility that this could turn into a huge shit-fight meant that having Ame and Kumo there was simply the only way to go.

The tension in the air was almost suffocatingly thick and the only sounds any of them were concentrating on was L's directions to the correct area which they had decided to leave the car and go on foot from. Not one of them, either in the car or at the current headquarters was paying attention to the time since it would seem like 5 minutes was 5 hours anyway, and the only thing that had to be taken notice of was what time the mission officially begun, and ended just for all the reports that would have to be done on this mission.

Eventually, they came to the point where they would be continuing on foot, and what was also their eventual rendezvous point. They were several blocks away from where there infiltration point was and Tsuki narrated what hey were doing, as Taiyou, Watari and L watched with each set of eyes glued to the screen, and their stomachs in their throats.

Firstly, they broke through the first fence and went through the grounds and then the second, third and fourth, running past houses, and various other buildings. It was a slow process until they spied the large shed that was standing just in front of a large fence, and all six of them could see the shapes of the traditional buildings in the background.

Ame was in front, Tsuki in the middle and Kumo behind, and Ame felt the wind of something flying straight past his head, and then something much larger fly past just as quickly, and both men just saw Tsuki catch someone who was patrolling on the roof of the first building and they both saw the mask on his face and shook their heads, being a bit stunned at her speed, but not too surprised since she was very much 'in the zone' at the moment and tended to be almost superhuman when she got like this.

It was only a second later back in the building that L quickly saw a black flash across the roof that he realised that there actually was someone standing there, and Tsuki had seen them before anyone else, even them, who were watching a live feed with a birds eye view.

Now it was Tsuki's time to shine, and both Kumo and Ame followed her over the fence, and they sat and looked around very carefully for anyone, Kumo using his infra-red camera to spot anyone else on the roofs, and he saw that there was a large tower in the centre on the block and there were three people watching different directions.

Tsuki followed Kumo's gaze and spotted them as well and she signalled for Ame to get up into the tower and take them out with just hand signs, which he could only just see because of the light from the moon. He carefully went off over the rooftops and Kumo covered him whilst Tsuki went to search down on the ground with insane caution.

Instead of dropping straight down, she decided to just hang off the edge of the roof and look into any open doors. Luckily the second one she peeked into was open just enough for her to see that it was a weapons storage room. There were tonnes and tonnes of all different kinds of weapons, exactly the ones that Hetoshi had told them that Eclipse had told him to make.

There were various kinds of swords hanging up on the walls, as well as other long range weapons such as kusarigama and there was rack after rack of shuriken and the customised kunai. It seemed to be a very small training room as well, since there was targets on the back walls, but they didn't seem very worn, suggesting that they may have a larger training room somewhere else.

She pulled herself back up onto the roof only to hear Ame whisper quietly that he was ready to climb up the tower and for Kumo and Tsuki to watch him carefully since there was three people in the watch tower and he had to make sure that none of them were alive long enough to cry out or warn someone of an enemy presence. Kumo and Tsuki watched from a distance and saw the man pull himself up the structure with ease and without being noticed before he reached the top a minute or two later.

He threw a senbon straight into the spinal cord of the guy facing away from him and quickly zipped around to the other side to grab him before his fall made a sound. The other two didn't notice, and Ame slowly pulled himself up and landed silently on the standing platform of the tower and used another senbon to take out the second guy, who unfortunately dropped whatever was in his hand, making a sound and drawing the attention of the third guy.

Ame cursed in a whisper and stood in shock as he went to draw his weapon, but stopped halfway and fell forwards straight onto him and he saw the kunai buried into the back of his neck and looked to where he last saw Tsuki and she had already stopped paying attention to what he was doing now and was already checking the next building, which was much larger than the one housing the weapons seeming like it was merely a shed next to a warehouse in size difference.

Her earlier question was answered and she discovered that this was the training room. There was three people in there, two were sparring with hand-to-hand combat and the other throwing kunai at a target. She flung a kunai each at the sparring pair, and the man practising with kunai heard them fall, and saw the small woman wearing a black mask that had a white crescent moon on the forehead before a third kunai hit him straight in the jugular and he dropped like a tonne of bricks and bled out for a few seconds on the floor before he finally passed.

With a quick glance, Tsuki made sure that there was no one around and dropped down to land on the ground and walk into the large room and look around a bit for the camera footage then proceeded to leap back onto the rooftop after disposing of the bodies and continue her search and listened to Ame now that he was in a position where he could speak and he told them what he saw from up the tower.

"I can see a total of seven buildings. Tsuki, you are on the second largest one, and Kumo is still back at the fence. I can only see a small amount of light coming from three of the buildings, the one Tsuki is on, the smaller one next to that, and the largest one at the top of the hill. I think that we should try and check the largest one, but chances are that it's the main room and there might be heaps of people in it. It's up to you, Tsuki." he spoke very quietly, and everyone heard a small groan and then Tsuki's voice was heard.

"We don't really have much of a choice. Ame, you check out anything you can. Try the dark buildings for starters. Kumo, move forward and back me up from a distance. I'm going to check out the largest building by myself." she ordered and Kumo began to move forward whilst Ame got down from the watch tower and started carefully checking out the other four buildings.

Tsuki silently clambered around the roof of the largest building which was up much higher than the others, trying to see what way would be the best to sneak a peek in from and she nearly smirked in triumph when she hung down from the back of the building and saw a tiny window used for air just a few feet below her.

She thought about it for a moment and then sat on the edge of the roof, facing the front of the building, and using just her upper body strength, pushed herself out far enough so the backs of her knees were touching the edge of the roof and gradually fell back, using her calves and knees to keep her grip as she bent her back so much so that she was making a 'C' shape with her body and ended up staring straight into the window.

The experienced agent knew that she had to be extremely careful to not be spotted, even though the window was so tiny, and as she looked inside, everything was revealed. There was at least 10 people, dressed fully in black with masks on, each standing motionless against one part of the wall, surrounding the inside of the room.

Also, there was another two standing in the middle of the room with a civilian looking around in fear and then, suddenly the door was opened and someone walked in which made Tsuki freeze up in complete and total shock and she heard a few gasps of shock from back at the building.

 _It was Eclipse_.

He was a man of average height, with a slim but extremely toned build and wearing black clothing, and she could see his numerous weaponry hanging off him from his holsters and belt etc. His mask covered his face, and she could barely see a bit of messy brown hair from behind it, and he walked straight past everyone and sat down at a large seat at the top of the stairs at the back of the room, near where she was peeping through the window.

It seemed that this civilian had just been 'recruited', or forced to, more or less, to join the Aka Sora and everyone dressed in black bowed to Eclipse respectfully and the civilian glanced around in fear and confusion. From where Tsuki was, she could only see the back of the chair she presumed Eclipse had taken a seat in and waited for something to happen.

"So...you have decided to join us. That is wonderful news. We will send you to start training and work right away. It seems our weapons deliverers have disappeared as well as our supplier, and we presume that the Sora Ops have them captive, so I may put you into the position of our new weapons deliverer. For the moment, go to our training facility and one of my men, Kiiro will be waiting for you." said the man only known as Eclipse and Tsuki nearly fell off the roof because of how stunned she currently was.

She didn't even hear the tiny whispers of Ame, Kumo, Taiyou and L in the background as she dangled from the roof by her legs and everything else was drowned out for a moment as her mind swirled like a maelstrom.

A few minutes later, one of the men that was standing with the civilian earlier came running in the door calling Eclipse's name and he took a few breaths before finally collection himself enough to speak and tell everyone that there wasn't anyone in the training room, but there was a puddle of blood on the floor. Tsuki snapped out of it, and her temper rose up to the stars themselves.

"Ame, Kumo. Get out of here, now." she uttered quietly, and heard them question her, but she knew that they wouldn't hesitate to listen to her going by the tone in her voice.

The kunai that she had never used before was suddenly in her hand and a split second later, flying across the room, through the tiny window to land just about where Eclipse's head would be in the back of the chair and within another split second, she was sprinting across the rooftops, seeing Ame leaping across them ahead of her, and watching as Kumo climbed over the fence in the distance.

Tsuki began to serpentine across the rooftops, knowing that in a moment's time, she would be feeling kunai fly past her and she heard the whizzing sounds barely a second later. Instead of slowing down to climb over the fence, like Ame did, she simply leapt from the last rooftop over the fence onto the small shed on the other side, then jumped down to hit the ground, and they were all together now, running to the car.

As long as they got there before anyone caught up with them enough to see them, they were safe. So it was a race for time as the three agents sprinted through backyards, hopped more fences and didn't stop until they reached the car which was unlocked by Kumo when they were a few metres away. They jumped in and drove off, heading back to current headquarters, hoping that Eclipse didn't have people hiding in the surrounding area, waiting for something like this to happen so they would be immediately ready to pursue.

Luckily, it seemed he didn't, and they got back into the underground car park safely and went straight up into the building and to the floor that everyone was waiting for them on. Watari was waiting for them with a first aid kit, ready to tend to any wounds, L was just busting to see if Tsuki was okay, and Taiyou was waiting to congratulate, and scold a little.

"Well done, though I probably wouldn't have thrown a kunai at the chair Tsuki, at least we have let them know not to underestimate us any more. Now, we'll just start planning our next move..." Taiyou spoke but trailed off when Tsuki didn't even stop to speak to any one and just walked up the stairs to her bedroom after ripping off her mask and giving to Kumo as she strolled past.

They all looked at each other in confusion, but knew that Tsuki was more than likely just really pissed off and wanted to be left alone, so they left her be, not knowing what was really troubling her would end up being the most shocking moment of all in the duration of this case...


	15. The Battle

**Chapter 15 – The Battle**

It was the next day after the Sora Ops had discovered that they were correct and the block of land they had suspected to be the place where the Aka Sora were hiding was exactly where they were. Tsuki was sitting in her room in the large building that L had commissioned to be built solely for him and the Sora Ops to use.

No one had come to bother her since they had arrived back and she had stormed into said room without a word or a glance to anyone and it was better that they didn't. She had heard whispers from down the hall, which was L, wanting to come in and check on her, whilst Kumo eventually convinced him to leave her be.

She was staring out the window and had been doing so for at least a few hours, Hisuiro coiled around her enjoying the warmth of her body heat, and as she saw all the people walking past on the ground below, the people driving their cars, riding on the buses, she couldn't even begin to fathom how different her life would have been if that man had decided not to break into that particular bank, on that particular day at that particular time, and hadn't killed her parents right in front of her.

Maybe she might have become a lawyer, or a doctor and be living a quiet life in a nice house somewhere. She might have even been married, or having a child of her own and that child would have grandparents that would be around to see their only daughter give birth to their grandchild. It would be something that she would never ever know, and even though the reality of that pained her, she knew that if things didn't turn out the way they had, she wouldn't be half the person she was today.

After all that she had been through, all that she had seen and most importantly done, she knew that it had made her a stronger person. Many years back when Kumo had first joined the Sora Ops, he had nearly broke down in tears the first time he was forced to kill someone. She had sat there, on the cold, unforgiving concrete floor of a buildings basement and been there for him while he came to terms that he had taken a human life. She had told him about the things she had already done, and shockingly enough actually opened up to him a little just to comfort him, and to make sure that he knew what he had gotten himself into.

He had always had a great admiration for her, and she knew that she would be absolutely beside herself if he was killed by the Aka Sora. Ame had become someone she held close to her heart, and even though she could never give him what he truly desired from her, she knew that she wanted to protect him. Taiyou was like her father, and had been her teacher for 90% of her life, and she was indebted to him. She had already lost too many people.

As she had stood, looking out the window lost in thought, she had contemplated the things that had changed recently, what had happened over the past few months, such as being helpless while innocent people died, losing Hoshi, her house being destroyed, and she had come to terms with all that.

There was, however, one thing that she still couldn't completely break down into little pieces, and get past it bit by bit. That was one man, one skinny, pale, dark-haired man who had managed to get so far under her skin that she actually wanted him to approve of her. She found that she was enjoying herself when they spoke, and feeling a little odd when she noticed him just sitting there watching her at times.

The young woman tried to tell herself that it was just her getting used to the regular company of someone new, and that it was normal for a woman to feel a little different around men, even though she had barely been around any women for long periods of time and she worked with males all the time, so that theory had fallen through.

She had planned to question Kumo on these things since he was the most socially knowledgeable and yet still jaded person in the Sora Ops, but he had been terribly busy setting up and fixing new and old equipment for the past few days and she didn't really feel comfortable asking something like this anyway even though he was the only person she would talk to about these things.

Just as she had nearly given up on trying to figure out these feelings, said troublesome man, lightly tapped on the door and opened it a moment later. For a moment, he just looked at her, wondering what was going through her mind, if she was thinking about the mission tomorrow, if she was thinking about what might happen, if she was thinking about _him_. He shut the door and walked up behind her, close enough so that he only leant forward slightly, he'd bump right into her.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly after a moment of silence.

She made a small sound of acknowledgement in her throat and barely nodded in response. Hisuiro shifted around her, feeling the vibration of her voice in her chest and she decided to put him back in his enclosure, which she did with a little difficulty since he had managed to coil up so his tail was around her bra strap and she actually had to get L to help her, which he did with hands that he was begging not to shake with nervousness and after they both sat at the end of her bed.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked with the utmost hesitation, which she raised an eyebrow at, but didn't bother thinking it over too much and sighed before answering.

"I've had close call after close call doing this for the past 18 years, but I've only just gotten to the point where I'm almost certain..." before she finished her sentence, she turned to him with the most heartbreaking smile on her face and continued, "that I won't live out the week."

He was sure that the look on his face was nothing like it's normal bored one, but one showing horror, concern, and desperation. It must have been because as she focused on him after her sad smile fell, her eyes grew wide, and she leant back a little in utter shock and surprise.

"...but...you..." he was stuttering and shaking his head for the sole reason that he didn't know what to do or say in this situation, all he knew that he couldn't let that happen and he had to tell her, "Y-you can't. I've just found you...you...I care about you."

Tsuki was in shock and literally couldn't even think straight enough to think of any words, let alone remembering how to string them into a coherent sentence right now. It was only the ringing of L's cellphone that broke her out of it.

With genuine frustration on his face, which would make her smirk any other time, he answered it, holding the technological device between his thumb and forefinger and didn't even say 'Yes?' like he usually would when answering his phone and she faintly heard Watari's voice on the other end asking him if he wanted the camera and wiretaps in that room turned off, to which he agreed, and Tsuki turned around to see the small red light on a camera in the corner fade.

Meanwhile, downstairs, a certain brown-haired man smiled from the bottom of his heart at the sight before his eyes, and chuckled lightly when the camera feed disappeared from the screen and went black. He muttered the word 'Finally' before turning back to his earlier task, still smiling.

"You care about me?" Tsuki asked, finally finding her voice after sitting there like a stunned mullet for a minute or two. "Why?"

"I don't know. You are the only person I've met that is on my level. I've never been able to get along with anyone for that reason. Since I met you, I've started to understand why that is." he answered, sounding more like a normal person that ever, but quickly reverting to his old self, "And you've also caused some involuntary and unpredicted bodily reactions from me on several occasions." he finished casually with a thumb pressed against his bottom lip.

Tsuki's eyes widened at that proclamation, and she chuckled silently at him not being able to realise that you don't usually say those things in public, and that it's more or less something you keep inside your own mind. Nevertheless, she had almost come to enjoy his lack of social skills, it just made him a little more interesting. She took in his words, and finally responded.

"Why exactly does my stomach feel funny at the moment? Why do I look at you when I don't need to? Why do I feel things that I don't feel with any other person when I'm around you? I don't understand. It doesn't make any sense to me." she thought out loud, honestly wanting answers to these questions.

"You aren't the only one. I too have noticed the odd increase in unfamiliar feelings whilst being in your presence for some time now. I hadn't thought much of it because I am not used to being in the company of females, but when I questioned Kumo on the subject, he said that it was just me and that I'd figure out what it meant in good time." he said most articulately, as if he wasn't talking about such a weird subject.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure what it means, but all do know is that I'm sick of being so emotionless. I'm sick of forcing myself to ignore every thought and feeling that pops into my head. I still don't even know how I trained myself to do it. My life has been one tragedy after another and I just want the pattern to end." she began feeling much more open to him and the deep depression she had a strangle hold on for the last 18 years was finally managing to peel her fingers back, one by one.

He looked at her with the most sympathetic look he could pull off, and it was fairly well done considering he hadn't ever really felt much sympathy for anyone before. The young man wanted her to be able to talk to him, he wanted to be able to comfort her, and he didn't even have to consciously think about it, it was just an instinct.

"When I was about 6 years old, I went to the bank with my parents one day. I remember feeling like I was having fun because I'd never seen something like that before. I recall the woman working at the bank putting a nice stamp on the back of my hand, and when we turned around to leave I looked at the man waiting behind us. I didn't recognise the look back then, but from then on I've always been able to tell when a person is about to do something incredibly stupid that they know is wrong." she spoke quietly, and even though her voice was level and didn't shake, L could hear the concealed pain.

"He walked up to the counter and pulled a gun from his jacket and told the woman to put all the money from the safe in the bag that he threw at her. Everyone dropped to the ground and we were all so scared. She did exactly as he asked, and I saw her walk back over to the counter and put the bag up, and I remember seeing something pass behind her eyes, and I could just see her arm moving under the counter. I now know that she pressed the silent alarm. I...I..." she struggled getting out the rest of the words, and just going off his instincts, L put his hand on her own.

"I couldn't believe it when he just...pulled the trigger and killed her. She didn't deserve it. She did exactly as he had asked. My father, he called out the exact same thing, and the man was just in a rage. He shot my father and my mother right in front of my eyes" she flinched as the feeling of the blood splattering on her forehead and hand came to her again and the hand that wasn't intertwined with L's gently touched the exact spot.

"He turned the gun towards me, and I couldn't even look away from his eyes, but before I realised it, someone had killed him first. There was a kunai that had gone straight into his heart and killed him instantly. A moment later, this man dressed in black landed on the ground from out of nowhere and I don't remember anything after that until the man in black came up to me later on." her eyes were unfocused and widened as she recalled the very feelings and thoughts she had at that time.

"It was Taiyou. He asked me if I wanted to join the Sora Ops, and gave me the name Tsuki. I don't even remember my real name any more. My parents used to call me Aoi because of my blue eyes, but my real name still escapes me. I lived with Taiyou for about 12 years before I bought my own place. He trained me day in and day out when he wasn't on missions and I started doing my own when I was ready." L was a little surprised when she said that the man was Taiyou, but he knew that he should have expected as much. Still, he sat silently with his hand in hers, just listening.

"The first time I died was on the first mission I ever led and it was the ninth mission I had taken. I think I was about 14 or so." she said it so casually and L gasped silently when her words fully sunk in.

"There was a politician who had threats on his life being made and it was my job to direct and lead the people who were going to hopefully stop any assassination attempts. Basically, there was agents from all over coming in for it, but as always the Sora Ops is the only one who could actually pull their weight. I nearly beat the shit out of my team because they wouldn't listen to me. When the politician was giving his speech, Taiyou spotted a sniper in my building, and I ran over to stop them from going through with their plan, and I barely remember kicking the door down and then all goes black." L was horrified at the fact that she had actually been clinically dead before, but he rationalised that it would probably be more common than most people would think in this line of work.

"I barely recall hearing Taiyou shouting out my name, but nothing beside that. I woke up about 2 months later in a hospital room, missing half of my shoulder. I've got a titanium shoulder now, and most of the muscle was barely hanging off me by the skin because the sniper bullet only just grazed me. That all had to be surgically reattached, and most of it had to be completely reconstructed which was finally done after 14 surgeries and I had about 30 skin grafts from my legs, stomach and bum." she absently rubbed the side of her thigh, while L sat there in shock at the severity of the injury.

"How long did it take to heal?" he asked quietly, voice struck with awe.

"About a year for it to be fully healed. It still hurts to this day if I move it around too much. That's why I have the numbing cream and painkillers for when it starts to flare up. It took me about 6 months of physiotherapy before I could use it normally, and then another few months to rebuild my strength and I still had to train for months to get back into shape. It's the worst injury I've ever had. There's getting shot, and then there was that." she shook her head after being silent for a minute, as if she still wondered how she was still alive after loosing so much blood. She was just lucky that she wasn't standing a few inches to the left, or it would have been her neck or head that the bullet hit. She wouldn't have survived either of those wounds.

"The second time was a close call, but I didn't clinically die this time, even though it felt like I did. We got word that a group of terrorists were holding people in a large company's building hostage and that they would blow up the building if their demands weren't met. So of course, the police tried to stall as long as they could for us to get in there and either get the hostages out, disarm the bomb or kill the terrorists if we had to resort to that. Luckily we were able to set the hostages free and get them out secretly but it turned bad when they found out." she recalled the story with her eyes unfocused, her chin on her chest and L could see the sadness that she tried to cover up.

"They were serious about blowing the place up, and Taiyou told us to get out of there, but there was no way we both would have been able to. One of us had to stay behind and stall the people from setting off the bomb. The agent I was with, my second-in-command, was Arashi. He offered to stay behind to protect me, saying that I was worth more to the Sora Ops than he was. We also had somewhat of a intimate relationship, and I have no idea how, but I just knew it was the right thing to do. I knew that I had to leave him behind even though it killed me to do so." her nose scrunched up when she mentioned the 'intimate relationship part' but she composed herself quickly.

L was a little bit upset at hearing that as well, knowing that someone else had already cared for Tsuki, and she had returned their feelings, to whatever extent that she could actually feel. The young man knew that it was silly to feel jealous of this 'Arashi' since he hadn't even met Tsuki back then, and also that there was no threat from a man who had died to save her. He was glad that the man sacrificed himself for her though.

"I still feel terrible about it, but I always said that I would respect the wishes of my fellow agents, so I held true to that and I let him stay back until I got out of the building. Taiyou was furious with me for months, but he knew the whole time that we both couldn't have gotten out of there alive. It was better to have one of us alive rather than neither of us." L nearly shuddered at the thought of Taiyou being furious, knowing how intimidating the man could be with just a look.

"I've always felt like things happened for a reason, but my brain tells me that it's stupid to think like that. What was the reason that my parents died for? Why Arashi died? Why innocent people die and suffer every day because of human beings? Those people are the reason I exist, and I barely exist at all. I don't remember my name, my proper birthday, my parents face's or their names. I don't remember anything about my life before the Sora Ops. My life began when I accepted Taiyou's offer, and that's when I celebrate my birthday because that's when I feel like I was truly born." she frowned slightly, still staring at her lap, her fingers tightening around L's.

"I only know the life I've had with Watari. I don't remember my parents, I don't know who they were. Watari has looked after me my whole life. I don't envy you for that reason. I think it would be harder to know them, and then lose them right before your eyes. I do wonder what they were like though. If they were smart, kind, helpful, righteous." L spoke up, saying things that he had only uttered to Watari, and had barely done that.

"Our lives are just a tragedy. We see the worst in people and try to fight against it. It's just too much sometimes. I will quit the Sora Ops one day, but only when I feel it's right. Taiyou will stay Taiyou until he can no longer wipe his own ass and Kumo will stay there for as long as he can still recite the order that he armours himself in for the field, Ame will become a great agent once he learns to detach himself and maybe become the next Tsuki when I leave. It's rare that we've had all the spots filled, but hopefully we can find a new Hoshi and Arashi." she sighed quietly and looked down at the kunai strapped to her calf where the serrated one used to be.

Looking at it reminded her that it was time to prepare her weaponry for tonight and she gave L a tiny, sad smile before she got up and made her way to the training room. She had brought whetstones with her and prepared it for use before she grabbed her weapons bag and began to sharpen all the kunai, shuriken, katana and whatever else needed it whilst L just sat silently and watched, enjoying the idle time with her as much as he could, her earlier words of doubt over her surviving the night haunting him.

Tsuki picked up her wakizashi and her hands almost began trembling as she held it, knowing what was to come this night. With a deep breath, she collected herself and sharpened the blade until it could slice through steel if she tried hard enough. Tsuki sheathed the blade and looked to Ryuzaki, who was still watching her. She smiled a little before her blank mask fell over her face once more.

It was getting dark outside and she could hear Ame, Kumo, Taiyou and Watari moving around upstairs. It was time to start getting ready for the fight and Tsuki packed up the whetstones and put them back, and went back to the main room along with Ryuzaki. Kumo had set up all the camera, microphones, GPS, radios, and everything else that needed to be set up so that he only had to show L what to do before they left so all would be in order for them.

Taiyou was sitting at the head of the large table that they used, and Hetoshi had been let out of his room to help with the organisations, although he was still cuffed to the chair he sat on, just for safety and custody reasons. Ame sat on the opposite sides, looking at the satellite images of the grounds as well as the blueprints of the land. Kumo sat down next to him, his laptop on the table, as he examined all the connections to the radio and the camera/microphone feeds were all working correctly.

Watari disappeared from the room, but appeared a moment after Tsuki and L sat down at the table, with a trolley that had plates of a delicious hot meal on them for them all to eat while they discussed strategies and back-up plans. After he served them, he left the room again to do whatever it was he needed to go and do, and everyone ate while studying the map of the surrounding area, the blueprints Taiyou had gotten as well as the satellite images of the land. Everyone stayed mostly silent until they had finished eating and it was Taiyou who spoke first. He sighed before speaking.

"Now that we're all here, and well fed, it's time we discuss the mission. We only have until this time tomorrow night to organise everything, so we'll need to be efficient and make sure we cover everything. I have organised transportation to the location, and it will be Watari who drives you all there, but you will need to split up and escape on your own. You will all be given different tasks that you must stick to." Taiyou stood up and laid out a copy of the blueprints, satellite images and a basic street map of the area.

"Kumo and Ame, your job is to cover and back-up Tsuki as per usual, but you both have a specific part of that which will need to be done by each of you. Kumo, you will be jamming any outgoing signals from phones, or transmitters and then you'll go in first and sacking the first two buildings on the left, whilst Ame will come in a moment later and take the two on the right. Tsuki will provide ranged back-up and when you are both done, Tsuki will join you." he pointed to the buildings he was talking about and drew little K's, A's and T's on the map to show where each of them would be going.

"If something goes wrong in that first section, Tsuki will provide close-range back-up and take lead of the situation, but I need to make sure that she is prepared to go up against Eclipse alone, so that is why I'd like for her to stay back up until that time. From that point on, Tsuki will go ahead and scout the next two buildings and then you will both swap sides and take care of anyone each building. Kumo will be taking what we know as the training room, and Tsuki will there to help if there is too many people to take care of for Kumo alone." Taiyou continued to draw lines, arrows, letter and write things on everything, while the three agents and their boss were watched in awe by L and Hetoshi.

They stared and studied and it almost seemed like all the information was being sucked up into their brains with their eyes and ears like vacuums. Hetoshi didn't really understand much of it, and L was a little out of the loop, but he was more experienced in the strategising part, not so much the organisation of field attacks, but he listened with intrigue anyway, taking it all in so he knew what was happening as well.

"After that, the main doors to the largest building at the top of the grounds will be the last and only target. Tsuki will not move until you are both clear and you can go straight through the front doors. You will attack as a unit and take out all the guards and you two will protect Tsuki until she can get to Eclipse and make sure that everyone else is out so that she won't need to worry about any other guards or members attacking her. You will need to get out of the way and look out for any back-up or reinforcements that might have been contacted, and take out any possible threats." Taiyou looked at Tsuki who had her fingers laced underneath her chin.

"Tsuki, I just need one thing from you. Kill Eclipse. That's all." he said quietly, knowing her duty would be the hardest of all. He was relying on her, and he knew that she would come through for him, but whether she survived it as well was the difficult question. He watched as she leant back in her chair and crossed her arms behind her head before speaking.

"And it shall be done." she responded, and Kumo knew her well enough to figure out that there was more on her mind about that matter than she would like to reveal, but he knew not to question her now.

After the basic strategies were sorted, they discussed other tactics, in case things went wrong, such as the place being empty, which could mean that it was rigged up to bombs and would be detonated by the Aka Sora as soon as they knew the Sora Ops were on the grounds. That is why they were getting Kumo to jam any incoming or outgoing signals which would stop any camera feeds.

The remaining Sora Ops agents were also going to be keeping an eye on the surrounding houses within a 1 kilometre radius and watching for any possible suspicious activity, whilst still keeping themselves hidden. The grounds were on a bit of a hill, and it would be possible for someone with binoculars to stay at a distance and detonate a bomb when they saw the Sora Ops clambering over the roofs.

Kumo also presented the idea of an ambush, which they were always prepared for, that it why they had Kumo and Ame go in first, while Tsuki watched them and gave ranged back-up, so if Kumo and Ame got caught, Tsuki could always go in and save them, something that would be harder for a much less experienced Ame, and a more technology savvy man Kumo.

Everything was discussed at a length and after 2 hours of heavy tactic and strategy discussion, they decided that it was time for them to get prepared and with a deep breath, Tsuki got up from her seat and went to her room. She would shower and feed Hisuiro and go to bed so she could be well rested for tomorrow night.

The time had come to make the Aka Sora tremble...


	16. The Omega

**Chapter 16 – The Omega  
**

Taiyou had left for the night, and Watari had also gone to bed as well as Ame, Kumo and Hetoshi. Only Tsuki and L were sitting up a little later than the rest. It was silent in the building, aside from the usual hum of technology in the background. L was in his own room, and Tsuki was in her own, but they were both doing the exact same thing.

They sat at the end of their beds, eyes unfocused, staring at the floor whilst they almost sighed every few minutes and contemplated their fate. Tsuki was almost certain that she would die together with Eclipse, and L was worried about losing the one person he felt like he was on the same page as.

L had only really known Watari for his whole life, and now that he had gotten even slightly close to someone else, he felt like it was unfair for them to go what they thought was going to be their grave. The young man hadn't felt anything like this before, and as unfamiliar as it was to him, he knew it was something he didn't want to let go.

He sighed while at the same time Tsuki looked over to Hisuiro's tank. She had bought the python when he was a baby as soon as she moved out of Taiyou's place and into her own house. She had wanted a dog, but with her being away so much, she wouldn't have been able to look after it, so she had gotten a snake instead, so if she was away for a week, it wouldn't starve to death.

She was so glad that she had taken him out of the house before it got destroyed, because she knew that if that python was been killed, she would have tracked down the Aka Sora with nothing but her instinct, and probably tortured and brutally slaughtered every last one of them with her bare hands for killing her beloved pet.

L was almost infuriated at how worried he was about this whole situation, which tended to make him more confused as he was very much not used to feeling this like this. Not this strongly, either. And definitely not towards and over another human being, let alone a woman.

But Tsuki how found a way to tear down his wall of apathy and make his feelings truly emerge for the first time in his life. Of course he was used to feeling the normal things (Well, normal for him), such as confusion or faint frustration, such as when he was having a bit of trouble solving a case and occasionally a speck of fear. Other than that, most emotions were strange and weird feelings to him.

In other words, he was feeling _very_ weird right now. He was smart enough to figure out that somewhere deep down, his heart had begun to care for Tsuki and did not wish any harm on her during the time they had known each other, and they had just seemed to escalate over the past few weeks, especially with them living in the same building. He wasn't quite sure why, but the close proximity had only made it harder for him to try and concentrate on the case with her around.

A sudden wave of conviction rushed through him along with a lot of adrenalin as he prepared himself for something very unfamiliar, nigh non-existent for him. He was going to act on impulse and tell Tsuki how he felt. Even though he didn't really have much of an idea how to do that, he had gotten most of his knowledge of social interaction from movies and TV shows, even though he didn't realise that things never happened the same way in reality.

He stood up, a determined look in his dark eyes and pale-skinned hands in loose fists at his sides, his back straight and chin up, and marched out his bedroom door and walked up the stairs to and down the hall to where Tsuki was. As he made his way there, he was trying to think of the best way to tell her how he felt, recalling various scenes from movies that he had watched and made up a quick game plan.

Meanwhile, behind the closed door, Tsuki looked up from the floor as she heard loud footsteps coming down the hall. Obviously it wasn't Kumo, he was too well trained to let his movement be heard, no matter what was going through his head, maybe Ame was coming to tell her that she had to live through this or something stupid and emotionally frivolous like that.

What she didn't expect was to see L open the door, and her eyes widened when she saw the odd look in his own. The young woman recognised it as resolution, but wondered what about. The young woman could see his unusually straight posture and she raised an eyebrow in confusion and spoke with an dryly amused and almost teasing tone to her voice.

"I hope you weren't trying to conceal your presence. It sounded like a herd of elephants was coming down the hall." she smirked a little but it faded quickly as all the tenacity he walked in here with seemed to disappear completely in the blink of an eye and he put his hands in his jeans pockets and slouched like normal.

He took a deep breath after standing silently, staring at his feet for at least an entire minute, while Tsuki stared idly, confused as hell by his actions. A little courage returned to his expression and he walked straight up to her, pulled his hands out of his pockets and cupped both sides of her face gently and tentatively brought his lips to make contact with hers.

They stayed like that until the need to breath became dire and L released her and pulled back. It didn't go exactly how he had planned it, but all rational thought went out the window when he had opened the door and seen her small form on the end of the bed, trying to conceal the sadness deep in her eyes. It seemed that there was times where even she couldn't hide her true feelings, and for that he only felt worse about the whole situation.

In that moment, his heart broke for her and his feelings only got stronger. She didn't deserve to go through any of this. She was too jaded to need any more pain in her life. He knew he had to convince her to make sure she came back alive, because he had a feeling that she had resigned herself to certain death.

L sat down on the bed next to her and reached her to take hold of both her hands in his, and without any words, they sat silently, wondering what would happen next. Tsuki was feeling some very weird things, things that she had only felt a few brief times in her life, and she knew what it was, but wasn't really sure what to do with said feelings.

After a few minutes of fierce arguing in her own head, she decided that enough was enough. If tonight was going to be the last night she would be alive and in one piece, she was going to throw aside the identity she had hid behind for so long, the warrior who knew no fear, felt no pain and had no weakness, and just be...human.

With all the bravery she could muster, more than she had ever needed running into battle with seemingly endless foes, she turned to L and without a second thought, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him just like he had kissed her all of a few minutes ago. She moved from her seated position to be on her knees, and L had to tilt his head back to keep their lips together.

After a moment he turned to face her, and he was going to try and be brave and make the next move, but Tsuki beat him to it and let her tongue peek out from behind her small pink lips to run along his bottom one, making him nearly turn to jelly in her arms.

Their kiss became more and more heated, and L's body felt like it was on fire, just from this. He had no idea how people actually got far enough to have sex when even this felt so good to him. His pants felt more and more constricting and he was dying to be even closer to Tsuki. Suddenly, a leg straddled over both of his and Tsuki was in his lap, kissing him more and more fervently.

She broke away from him, making him nearly whimper with the loss of her lips against his own, but she only moved down to kiss and nibble his neck, making him shudder involuntarily. Tsuki leaned back and curled her fingers underneath the hem of his plain, white shirt and yanked it upwards, signalling that she wanted it off, _now._

He complied and raised his arms above his head, allowing her to peel of the white fabric, and hesitantly, he ran his hands over her hips and up towards her waist, lifting up her black singlet as he went. She let him take it off her, revealing a plain, simple black bra underneath, covering her small breasts.

Quietly, he moaned as she pushed him down to lay on his back, and started kissing his neck again, but daring to move down his pale chest. He had no idea what she was doing, let alone what he was doing, and he wanted to contribute but Tsuki had just taken the lead.

Tsuki had been intimate with someone before, whereas L had not. Tsuki's experience came from her time with Arashi, who had been the experienced one and had helped Tsuki feel more comfortable with such things. She was still horribly nervous, but was continuing to ignore the rational side of her brain, since she figured this would probably be her last night alive, why not throw caution to the wind.

The next three hours were filled with a pleasure that broke both their hearts, but both L and Tsuki were glad to have spent the night together. It was a sad, but happy event. L had found someone he had come to open up to and care for, but she seemed convinced that she wouldn't live through the next 24 hours. Tsuki had also come to care for L and she had found someone who was still able to have feelings for her, despite all the people she had killed, despite all the families she had more than likely torn apart, all the things she had done throughout her life with the Sora Ops.

As they finally separated, it took only a few minutes for them to both fall asleep, which was the first time in many years that they had both been able to sleep like normal people...

* * *

The time for the mission to start came, and Tsuki had been lying awake for a while now, just enjoying the feeling of L's arm over her waist and his warmth against her back. L was also awake and he had stayed quiet, also taking a moment to get his head straight before they got everything started.

Eventually it was time to move, and Tsuki got up and dressed, while L did the same, all in a ominous silence. Tsuki could hear everyone moving about and Taiyou talking with Watari and she sat down for a moment to take it all in.

As she sat on her bed, Tsuki was preparing herself for battle. That's what it looked like on the outside. On the inside she was preparing herself for certain death. Her expression was completely open and for the second time L saw her for who she really was. Just a young girl who had taken up a life of non-existence to become an agent who lived for nothing else but justice and bringing the scum of the earth to said justice.

L couldn't take his eyes off the woman, who he couldn't help but continue picturing in the various positions and images he had burned into his mind permanently a little over 8 hours ago. He was in love with her and he couldn't stand to see her walking out the door when he didn't know for sure if she would come back here with a beating heart and breath in her lungs.

They eventually came out and moved downstairs to where everyone else was. Ame and Kumo had finished arming themselves a while ago and they had left L and Tsuki alone for a few minutes longer before they came and got them so everyone could gather in the main room.

Watari had been kind enough to lay out all the weapons on a large table, the one's Tsuki had sharpened only a day ago. She began strapping and arming herself as she normally would, but this was for heavy combat, so she packed in a few extras, and then some. L had no clue how she fit that much into her outfit, but as she watched her change bare feet, for thick socks and heavy black leather boots with a retractable blade at the front of each boot. She strapped several kunai to her calves, one on each arm, and decided to use her hidden blade, which was tight around her right forearm.

On her belt, she had a small bag which was filled with extra kunai and plenty of shuriken, and she placed some extra shuriken in the pockets of her jacket as an afterthought. Her gun holster was tight on her belt and the magazine full. Two razor sharp daggers sat in the holsters that sat over her shoulders and she looked at her wakizashi, and L went to hand her the straps for it, and smiled slightly in response and thanks.

He watched in silence and in sadness, his eyes showing what he really felt. He had a passing thought that Tsuki had planned to die alongside Eclipse, just to make sure that he went with her, almost replicating the actions of the man known as Arashi, who seemed like he was very close to Tsuki. But he hoped dearly that she wouldn't do that to herself and to everyone around her.

His dark eyes were fixed on her mouth, still recalling that was the part of her face that gave her thoughts and feelings away more than anything. Her lips were drawn tightly and the corners of her mouth turned downward in a minute frown. L could see plain as day that she was very confused and upset, but resolution was the most prominent emotion on her face.

Kumo was fixing up the masks with the camera's in them when they went into the main room and when he was ready, he handed one to Ame and then to Tsuki. L watched as the woman closed her blue eyes, took a deep breath and during that time, erased the emotion from her face and opened her eyes to reveal the cold, piercing stare that he had gotten used to seeing over the last few months.

The young woman looked at L, and let her eyes soften just a bit, and she may have smiled a shadow of a smile underneath her mask. He smiled back at her as brightly as he could, even though it tore at her heartstrings, she ignored the feelings it may have brought around, and prepared herself for what could and probably would be the hardest fight of her life.

* * *

They arrived a few blocks away from the estate and it seemed that the time for death, blood and violence was nigh. All three operatives were fully prepared for this mission, but the Aka Sora had been so prepared themselves that Tsuki was worried that they might not be mentally prepared, since they had been defeated several times already, something quite unheard of amongst their ranks. Considering that, morale was not at an all time high.

Slowly, but surely they made their way towards their target area, spreading out and expecting traps, and scouts to be covering the place, but as the land and buildings came in sight, they came across nothing. Not being sure whether that was a good or bad sign, Tsuki got out her kunai and got them ready to be thrown since Ame and Kumo were going in before her, and she was ready and waiting to make the first attack, not wanting to be caught off guard, or unawares.

Both Ame and Kumo killed a scout on top of their assigned buildings and Kumo went over the wall first to sac the first two buildings, and Ame followed after throwing a kunai at an Aka Sora who was patrolling along the wall and had heard a sound and looked in their direction. Tsuki followed over the wall and was ready for action. She provided back up to Kumo in clearing out the first room silently, not having much trouble since it seemed they were all 'new recruits' if it could be put that way.

After that, Kumo went to the next room and Tsuki moved on to check on Ame, who had a problem with nearly being overwhelmed with two very strong opponents that had come out of nowhere. Tsuki kept to the shadows, being the demonic woman she was rumoured to be, and took care of one, slitting his throat just as Ame dispatched of the other man.

Ame was fine after that, and with a nod she moved back to begin taking out all the patrol units doing laps around the site and the sentries that seemed to be everywhere and nowhere. She took out three, who were all guarding a doorway and Ame went through after, doing what he needed to do inside then took out another two, standing on the walls.

Tsuki leapt up onto the rooftops using her kunai to silence four men, standing guard on the rooftops directly in front of her. Her attuned picked up on the sound of mobilisation and she knew that from now on, this would be the hard part. The Aka Sora had realised that they were being attacked and were moving quite silently, but not as well as the Sora Ops members.

All out battles had started between Kumo and Ame, but they seemed to be handling their many opponents well, so as planned Tsuki went ahead, using Kumo and Ame as a distraction as she made way towards Eclipse, taking out everyone she could on her way. She could hear the sounds of battle and felt her mind clear and blank as she kept running only stopping to destroy all in her path. She moved like water, smooth and avoiding everything that the Aka Sora gave her with the grace of the wind.

Kumo and Ame caught up quickly, and began to back up Tsuki as her opponents began to swarm like locusts. They kept coming, but Tsuki, Ame and Kumo never stopped their relentless attacks, eventually overpowering the numbers with, skill, speed and experience, something 90% of the forced members did not have. The fight was gruelling but their opponents numbers were thinning quickly.

After most of the infantry was taken care of, it seemed that it was time for the higher ups to make their appearance, walking out of the light coming from the large building where Tsuki hoped Eclipse would still be. There was 10 men in total and they were heavily armed, and as soon as the battle of 10 to 3 began, Tsuki knew this was not going to be easy.

Three men approached Kumo, three stalked towards Ame and four towards Tsuki, all with masks bearing the Aka Sora symbol and with a deadly aura radiating from them. One of the three Kumo was matched with had a katana in hand, and Kumo quickly discovered how proficient he was with it. The other two had short daggers, as well as the customised kunai and plenty of shuriken he had to keep dodging.

One of the dagger wielding men faltered for just long enough so that Kumo could cut across his chest and put him out of the battle. The other two came at him with renewed force, but not even stopping to help or check on their comrade, as if they just didn't care. Chances were, they probably didn't. After a good few minutes, the two men tired and were cut down by Kumo, who was exhausted, but didn't stop.

At the same time, Ame killed his last opponent, and he had a fair bit of trouble since one of them used a kusarigama, making it a huge problem for him to come into close range, since the bastard wouldn't let him. Finally, he had managed to grab the chain without nearly getting himself beheaded or losing a limb and had pulled the man towards him and moved the sickle blade around so it planted itself deep in his enemies chest as the man had stumbled toward Ame.

The two others weren't so hard, but it had been hard to avoid both their attacks and the kusarigama at the same time, so he was fairly spent already. Tsuki was still fighting three men, the four strongest out of the ten had gone straight for her no doubt, but with Ame and Kumo's help, they went down quickly, knowing that Tsuki had to be at full strength to have a chance of taking down Eclipse.

Things were scarily quiet after the small battle was one, and Tsuki reported into Taiyou, and L, who were waiting on the other end of their radios, Taiyou hoping that everything was going to plan, and L being terrified that Tsuki had been harmed. Her voice, though she sounded a little breathless, held no pain and for that he was glad, though he knew that they still hadn't even entered the main building yet.

It seemed that there was no one else left outside and they approached the main building unhindered. The doors were slightly ajar, and there was slivers of light falling out of the gap, and all three Sora Operatives looked between each other and took a deep breath, then Tsuki opened the door, knowing that this would be the plunge that she may never surface from.

When they're eyes adjusted to the light, they saw the full layout of the room. It was set up almost like a yakuza hideout, with scrolls on the walls and decorative weapons and art covering the walls. Tsuki's eyes didn't bother looking at any of that. She simply focused at the chair at the opposite end of the room.

Eclipse looked down on them and the silence was broken with the sound of him clapping. Tsuki actually growled at him and noticed the two guards at his sides. The odds were perfect. Kumo and Ame could handle those two, while Tsuki would attack Eclipse.

"Well done. I'm surprised how quickly you cut your way through everyone to get here. I'm impressed." they could almost hear the smirk in his voice, and Tsuki was nearly shaking with anger. "So you must be Kumo, you must be Ame, and of course, Tsuki." he pointed to each person as he spoke about them, looking them up and down as if he was memorising everything about them in those few seconds.

"It's over Eclipse. Give it up." Tsuki spoke as if she was death itself, and the malevolence was coming off her in waves. "You can make this easier on yourself. If you attack, none of you will get out of here alive." she continued, guessing that she probably couldn't reason with him, not that she wanted to considering she was contemplated the most fucked-up ways to kill the man.

"But Tsuki, don't you remember me? Where is your sense of nostalgia?" he retorted in an almost sing-song voice, and Tsuki's blood was boiling and she scowled underneath her mask.

She had hoped that her instincts were lying, she had hoped it to her last breath, her last drop of blood, but it seems that she was right all along. Without another word, she charged at the man, drawing her wakizashi as she ran, the ringing sound of the steel music to her ears. It was the sound that only a warrior could appreciate.

"Ao, Kiiro. Go." Eclipse said quietly, and his last two subordinates went for Tsuki, only to be stopped by her two comrades.

"I don't think so. We'll be your opponents." Ame said to the man named Ao, whose sword he was currently blocking, allowing Tsuki safe passage towards Eclipse, and Kumo glared at the man who was known as Kiiro.

Kumo's opponent, Kiiro, was wearing a yellow mask with the red kanji for sora on the mask. He was wielding two short blades that were deadly sharp, and Kumo grabbed his own ninjato and swung at the man who was at least a few inches taller than himself. Kiiro swung both blades down and Kumo blocked with his own blade, but felt the weight behind the man's strike.

Ame had much more physical strength than Kumo did, but it was Kumo's amazing parrying skill that allowed him to overcome most opponents. Blades clashed over and over again and both men began to tire quickly, Kumo already being exhausted from the earlier skirmishes, but he continued to push Kiiro until they were both at breaking point.

Kiiro swung across from the left, and Kumo's ninjato met one of his blades and swept it to the side just enough so that it wouldn't hit him, and swiftly deflected the next blade before slicing across Ao's stomach, creating a nasty wound that began bleeding heavily almost instantly.

Kumo was shocked when Kiiro started another assault, seeming to not even be affected by the wound, his speed or accuracy barely changing as a result. He wondered just what the hell Eclipse had done to these poor people and fought back and forth with his enemy, who was leaving blood all over the floor.

Ame was fairing similarly in his battle with Ao, who was wearing a yellow mask with the red kanji for sora on it. He had blocked the man's katana with two of his kunai and he was lucky that he had been working on his strength lately, or the extra weight of the longer sword would have made his block break and caused him to be defeated and definitely killed in one movement.

The katana was well made and the man using it had been trained very well, as his movements were fluid but precise, swift but strong and Ame wished he was good with a longer blade. He began throwing a barrage of shuriken at Ao after pushing him backwards with every ounce of strength he had. The man deflected and dodged most of them, but one of them sliced open his calf after he had blocked it with his sword, and the man didn't even spare a glance at his bleeding leg before attacking Ame again.

Back and forth, Ame and Kumo, Kiiro and Ao fought with everything that they had in them, and it seemed to go on for an eternity and in a moment of weakness, Kumo received a small but deep gash on his right thigh. He winced in pain, and pushed Kiiro back, growling at the fact he let himself be wounded.

The battle between them did not slow, Kumo pushed his opponent harder, pulling out all the stops, recalling every single thing he had ever been taught and channelling it into his body, with the way he moved, the way he swung his blades, and the way he perceived Kiiro's movements. Slowly, he seemed to be gaining the upper hand, with years of fighting experience assisting him in the fight, even though it seemed Kiiro had a few years under his belt as well.

Finally, Kiiro made a terrible move. He tried to focus everything on his attack, to try and end it all by putting everything he had into one swing. Unfortunately, parrying those swings was Kumo's forte, and he deflected the swing, so the man over-extended and ended up nearly doubled over next to Kumo. One quick stab of a dagger into the spinal column, severing it completely was enough to stop him. The man slumped down onto the floor, never to move again.

Ame heard the impact of Kumo's opponent hitting the floor, but paid it no heed as he was finally starting to get through Ao's defences. One blocked swing caused Ao to cop a large slash up his right forearm, and he was starting to have trouble putting all his strength and speed into his movements though he still managed to give Ame a slice across his back. Ame deflected another swing and made a quick forward thrust with one of his kunai to stab Ao in the stomach, and in that tiny moment when he fell back and tried to catch himself, Ame flung a kunai straight into his jugular, that sprayed blood in a very disgusting fashion. Ao fell to his knees, eyes wide and landed face first on the floor.

Both men looked towards Tsuki and Eclipse, who had not yet moved from their first attack and block. Tsuki had swung downwards and Eclipse had drawn his katana, the exact one Hetoshi had described and blocked her swing with ease. Kumo and Ame knew that this was Tsuki's fight and that they could not intervene, so they stood guard and wrapped up their wounds.

It seemed that they were just staring each other down, having a battle of wills instead of a battle with blades. Tsuki made the first movement, and parried leaving Eclipse just open enough to swing the tip of her blade up to hit his mask and break it, sending it flying all over the room. Kumo nearly dropped dead on the spot from shock, and Ame was smart enough to pick up on the epiphany.

It was Arashi under the mask.

The man Tsuki had loved, given everything to, turned out to be her worst enemy. She thought that he had died to save her, because he wanted her to live on, wanted her to find happiness someday, but he must have escaped, a scar on his cheek being the only difference. She wanted to scream, cry, break shit and just raze this whole country to the ground.

"Taiyou, I have come into contact with Eclipse, or should I say...Arashi. As I'm sure you can see." Tsuki told them older man, making sure he knew the situation just in case he didn't believe what he was seeing on the camera feed. It was enough to send the man screaming in anger on the other end, and she pulled out her earpiece, throwing it away and leaving Kumo and Ame to make contact with the people on the other end.

"Why are you doing this? Since when did you become everything you said you hated?" Tsuki asked, noticing that the man had not made a move to attack after she had knocked his mask off.

"I said I hated criminals who only fought for greed and their own personal benefit. Everyone has a right to fight for what they believe is right." he responded with that smirk that only she had ever seen on his face.

"Spilling the blood of the innocent and the blood of the people you used to fight alongside with is right? _Are you fucking mad?"_ Tsuki screeched and tore off her own mask and threw it away, pulling down her other one, so he could see the homicidal expression on her face.

"Maybe a little, but there was only one thing that made me feel like this." he almost laughed incredulously and glared at her before continuing. "You, Tsuki. You. It was all you. From the day you _fucked up_ and my family, everything I knew got taken from me, until the day I decided to solve the problem and took the chance to fake my death."

Tsuki, Kumo and Ame watched in horror and listened as the man continued to tell his story. Tsuki already knew it all, and she was sure that Taiyou and L could hear through Kumo and Ame's headset, and probably her own, that was somewhere on the ground. She never thought it would have come to this. She had known his voice sounded familiar, but figured that was just her idiocy talking.

"You let my wife of two months die, our unborn child as well as my mother. The only things I had left in this world! They were killed in that bank robbery when I met you. My life was finally turning around, and the moment your incompetence stepped on the scene was when I lost it all. You think you are so good at all of this crime-fighting bullshit, yet you have ruined so many lives! You two as well!" he yelled at the two other men in the background, who were glaring daggers at him.

"Arashi, you know that I had just been released from the hospital. I had nearly died and it was my second mission back. I did everything I could, but we just weren't notified quick enough. Don't speak as if you are the only one who has experienced loss!" Tsuki wasn't holding back any more, her expression was open, and angry, and her voice was laced with the upset of betrayal.

"But you don't get it! I didn't lose just my parents, I lost the only parent I had left, and then watched my wife die in my arms! Then when our child couldn't be saved, I felt everything crumble around me. When we met, and you took me away from the scene, you told me what had happened to you. I realised later how surprising that was coming from you, but you haven't lost someone that was more important to you than yourself, someone you wished every day you could switch places with-"

"YES I HAVE!"

The man who was now revealed to be Arashi stopped at the sound of her yelling. Kumo and Ame watched in silence, and Ame began to understand a lot more things about Tsuki, while Kumo stood there, knowing how hard this was for Tsuki to do, but he hoped that when this was over, it would help her find some measure of peace.

"I lost you. You fucking idiot." Tsuki continued so quietly that she was barely heard.

She didn't give him time to respond, and she charged him, wakizashi at the ready and murder in her eyes. There was nothing more on her mind now, she had said what needed to be said, but now it was time to end it. It was time to bring this massacre to and end, it was time to let go and let their swords decide who was right and who was wrong.

The sound of clashing steel filled the earpieces and the speakers in the headquarters as the intense battle was watched carefully. Eclipse/Arashi would swing, Tsuki would block it, then she would swing and he would deflect her blow and try to counter but Tsuki was just as quick, if not quicker and she would defend and try and make her own counter.

Swing. Block. Counter. Strike. Swing. Parry. Counter. Swing. Block. Strike.

For minutes it went on, and on, the battle never slowing down, and neither did the combatants, who seemed to only get stronger and faster as the minutes went by. It was almost as if they had been the only two people who could push each other to their limit and beyond and there wasn't even any time to think and muscle memory was doing all the fighting for them.

Tsuki was easily able to defend against Arashi, being the one who trained him, but in the years they had thought he was dead, he had learnt a good many tricks and he tried them all on the woman in front of him, but she was never caught off guard, never able to miss a chance to strike, and it was only because he was extremely quick that he was able to defend himself at the last second.

She finally landed a small cut at the top of his shoulder, but it wasn't enough to hinder him, though he attacked with renewed anger and force, surprising Tsuki. He had gotten extremely good and it seemed that they were evenly matched when he managed to return the injury by cutting her side just a little. The wounds bled, but both ignored them and kept fighting.

For another ten minutes at least, the fight continued. Small bruises and cuts were given back and forth, until Tsuki managed to block a downward swing and use her strength to deflect and slice Arashi's thigh and send his blade from his hands and spiralling across the room, but his speed allowed him to quick grab a kunai and throw it at Tsuki cutting down on her wrist, causing her to drop her own sword.

They stopped for a minute, catching their breath and staring at one another, wondering whether they should grab swords, or just continue in hand-to-hand combat. Tsuki breathed deeply and shook her head, still barely able to believe that this was really happening. She just wanted it to be over. They both took up a stance and charged.

Fists, knees, elbows, feet and anything they could use was thrown in to get a hit on their enemy. Tsuki got a hit in and punched her opponent in the jaw, making his brain shake in his skull and he recovered swiftly enough to block her second barrage, and countered, landing a kick to her side, and L swore that he could hear ribs crack.

Another few minutes and they jumped back, both feeling like they might be too evenly matched for this to end. Eclipse knew that Kumo and Ame would not interfere, so he had no worries about that, but he just wanted the world to know his pain. Tsuki knew that this was going to be a hard fight, but every hit she got in, he sent back with one of his own. Every punch or kick she blocked, he blocked her punch or kick in return.

The young woman took another deep breath, and took up a stance unfamiliar to everyone, except for Taiyou. He had watched Tsuki developed this technique and combination, and he hoped that they would be enough to end this ridiculous fight. She had not come up with a name for it, but the one time he had seen her use it, the autopsy report for the man she had used it on showed that her blows had caused so much internal damage that he had died instantly. After that, she decided to never use it again.

Eclipse watched her move into a stance and turned his head slightly, analysing it from every angle he could before he shook his head at her and came at her. Kumo saw the sadness on Tsuki's face as everything she had worked hard to develop would kill the man she had once loved.

He went to swing a right at her, and she did not look like she found it hard, but a turn of her wrist deflected the movement, and her flat hand landed on his right side. He spat out blood as the wind was knocked from his lungs, and everyone watching tensed hoping that this was the end. Arashi tried to swing his left leg, but she blocked it with her own leg, and looking almost bored, slammed another palm into his other side, more blood spilling from his mouth.

The deciding moment was here, Tsuki knew only one more hit would kill him, considering that his spleen would be ruptured and his ribs completely shattered, but even if she let him live he would die within a few hours anyway. She held him up so he didn't fall to his knees, nearly unconscious now, but he was looking at her with sad eyes, and she knew her own held sadness as well.

She yelled with the force and sent her palm straight into his sternum, feeling it shatter into dust under her blow and watched the eyes of the man she had loved so much darken with death. It was over. She had killed him, even though every memory they had together was flashing through her mind in that moment. It was over. Her hand that was fisted in his shirt let go, and he fell forward, hitting the floor like a ragdoll.

It was over.

Suddenly, the pain from all her wounds hit her, the adrenalin no longer pumping through her veins. It was over. Kumo and Ame ran to her as she began to sway on her feet and stumble. She shooed them away and reached into her leg holster, pulling out the kunai she had kept for so long. It was the prototype Arashi had come up with and then later got Hetoshi to make. It was over. She laid it on his corpse and turned away, nearly falling over, but Kumo and Ame caught her, and helped her walk away, sparing no backward glance.

It was over.

* * *

_6 Months Later_

"Hey guys." Tsuki said as she walked in the room, Kumo and Ame smiling at her.

It was time for their monthly meeting, and Taiyou walked through the doorway soon after. These meetings used to be so much larger, but since it was only the four of them left, the room never seemed more empty. Hoshi was gone, Arashi had died a long time ago, only to come back as the bad guy and be killed by Tsuki. There was no doubts that he was dead now.

Taiyou sat at the head of the table and they got started, mostly talking about who to promote to replace the open positions. They had already decided to replace Hoshi with Daichi, the man who had helped them bring in Hetoshi after testing his skills and deciding that he was perfect for the job, even more so, since Hoshi was the one training him before he died. No one had any ideas for who should replace Arashi yet, so the subject wasn't brought up.

"Finally, I would like to let you know that I will be passing on the title of Taiyou soon." Kumo and Ame both smirked and looked at Tsuki, knowing there was only one woman for the job. "Tsuki. Do you accept the promotion to the leader of the Sora Ops, casting away your title as Tsuki and becoming the second Taiyou?" he looked to his protege, feeling very proud of how far she had come.

"Actually, I have an announcement to make first. L has asked me to become his personal body guard." she glanced to her two comrades that were watching her curiously. "I accepted the position. But, I will still be able to work here, because L would like to propose a partnership between him and the Sora Ops." she looked to Taiyou with determination. "Do _you_ accept?"

The older man let a small smirk come across his face. "I accept. In that case, I will remain as Taiyou, and you will remain as Tsuki for the time being. Ame." his head snapped up to attention and Tsuki smiled, knowing what would happen. "I had decided that when I felt Tsuki was ready to lead the Sora Ops on her own, that you would be ready to replace her. Instead, you will replace her when she feels you are ready. When that time comes, you will become Tsuki, and we will need to replace Ame. Do you accept?"

Ame nodded vigorously, clearing being so shocked he could not even form words right now. Kumo chuckled, being glad that he had not been offered the spot. He was happy being the tech guy and had never wished for Tsuki's job, knowing how stressful it could be. He was happy for both Ame and Tsuki, since they were both starting to get the proper recognition.

Suddenly, L's voice sounded out from...Tsuki's boob and Kumo stared before she showed them she was wearing a wire with a smirk on her face. Taiyou didn't look happy, but since it was L, he wasn't entirely surprised. The man was still very uncomfortable with showing his face, but this way he would still know what the answer was to his proposal.

"Thank you for accepting Taiyou. I apologise for taking Tsuki away from you all, but I feel she has earned a very long break, so she will not be reachable for the next few weeks. She will be safe in my care. Thank you again." he said, Tsuki smirking slightly the whole time, knowing what was in store for those 'next few weeks'.

After the meeting was over, Kumo, Ame and Tsuki went back to their office, and Taiyou went on his way to speak to Daichi about his promotion. Jokes and laughs were shared for a while until Tsuki's phone began vibrating. She turned away and answered it, the conversation ensuing making the two men chuckle in the background just barely making out L's voice on the other end.

"Yes, Ryuzaki?"

"We will miss our flight if you do not hurry up. The car is out the front." he said with a hint of impatience making her shake her head at the man.

"It's a private jet, it doesn't matter. But I'll be out in a minute." she responded before hanging up, turning back to her friends who were clearly pretending that they didn't hear anything, innocent looked plastered on their faces.

"I gotta go. I'll see you guys soon." she smiled a happy smile for the first time in many years and hugged her friends before heading out the front and hopping in the car.

L was waiting for her on his private jet, and she stepped inside, Watari taking her luggage and shut the air-lock door before heading to the cockpit. Was there anything he couldn't do? The inside was luxurious and she found L behind a set of doors leading to the bedroom. It held a huge bed which he was laying on, reading a book of some sort, looking up once he noticed her presence.

As soon as she laid down next to him, she took a deep breath and smiled, knowing that she was definitely going to enjoy this break. The sound of the engine roaring to life filled her ears, and they strapped in for take off, but as soon as Watari said it was okay for them to remove their seat belts, they leapt on the bed and drowned themselves in each other, finding happiness for the first time in their lives...

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter glossary -  
> 1\. Tsuki - Moon  
> 2\. Kumo - Cloud  
> 3\. Taiyou - Sun  
> 4\. Aka - Red  
> 5\. Sora - Sky


End file.
